Haifuri - Contact!
by Nameless Slinger
Summary: In a world of warships, where girls happily pilot weapons of mass destruction across the ocean's surface, a hidden force lurks beneath the sea. Crewed by boys of questionable age and background, they do their best as the arms of their political masters. This is the fate of the boys of Toumai Boy's Marine High. This is their story.
1. Prologue

"How much of everything that I'm telling you do you believe?"

This was the one question that served to put me off guard. Certainly, I had been rather suspicious when the boy had requested from me a moment of my time. Given how I held a significant role within the Blue Mermaids, this had naturally caused me to put the boy off whilst escaping him by visiting my old Instructor Furushou-sensei.

She had been affected during the latest incident, where a rogue Yokosuka Girl's Marine High School had attacked and sank her ship. The _Sarushima_ as it was had rolled over from the flooding caused, though given how the schools were only assigned dummy torpedoes, this was suspicious in of itself.

To add to my department's worries, the ship in question was believed to be the _Tanikaze_. The ship had the daughter of a prestigious family as her captain, and that she had attacked her own instructor was damaging the family's reputation. I've had to fend off several angry phone calls and emails from the family heads to bring their daughter back in.

Of course, there was only so much that we Blue Mermaids could do. Recent budget cuts despite Okaa-san's attempts to negotiate with the Board of Directors had eaten heavily into our systems. The last few operating satellites we had were just barely able to get the job done, and there has been news of the Board looking into scrapping our ships.

Which was why when I left Furushou-sensei's room with a heavy heart, I was quite surprised to find that boy again. He was rounding the corner as I closed the door, and as I looked up, he was presenting me with a cup of hot coffee from the hospital's vending machine.

I had tried to turn down his offer, but he insisted, saying that he didn't like coffee anyway. He claimed that he had though I had needed a coffee and had gone to buy one for me. While it was touching, I reminded him that he shouldn't be giving things like this away to people he barely knew.

He just smiled and told me that he knew me from before, but never really got to do anything about it. It was as I was waiting for the lift and sipping the coffee when he mentioned how he and his crew were forever grateful for what I had done for them.

That was when it had clicked for me. I remember starting in surprise, facing him once more as he gave me that _face_ , that sad and forlorn smile that expressed an infinite amount of tiredness, those eyes that closed as he did so, like a person who had given up all hope.

I remember that face.

A badly crippled vessel, flames roaring high into the night sky, a series of explosions like a chain of firecrackers…

A body, mangled and torn.

I had stepped back from the lift then, and asked after his health.

"I live in the hospital now. Always waiting for the day when you would show up. But you never did, until today."

What happened to you?

"A series of unfortunate circumstances, you could say. Since you were there, you would understand more than most would."

That's not really answering the question, young man.

"I know, I know. Well, if it's the injuries list you're after, I've mostly healed up from the shrapnel wounds and fractures. My doctors say that I had a concussion, and while I am glad to be alive and in high operating condition, I have always wondered if my personality had always been like this. Usually I get memories of myself in my dreams, shouting at people or spouting curses every which way. As you can see, my manner of speaking might have changed significantly since then."

What else? Where are the rest of your crew?

"That's the issue, isn't it? Since I was sent here, I haven't managed to find out where everyone else is. All that the people here could tell me was that I'll see them again someday. What they don't know is that I can hear them mentioning how it would be better for such a thing to occur later rather than sooner. Quite odd, don't you think? Munetani-san?"

That's… while I do have a vague idea of where these crew had gone to, I didn't want to be the one to have to break to him the news. Well, he wanted an audience with me, and he managed to get himself one.

"That's right. Other than just thanking you, there is something I need to share with you. It is of strict importance, and it is meant for your ears only. I have directives to never share this information with anyone else but you, lest it falls into the wrong hands. There are others with similar directives as well, though I have yet to contact them yet.

 _And he might very well be the last one left! All the children known to be involved had been tried for treason and were either serving time in a juvenile hall or in exile. It's a miracle they haven't come for this one yet._

"Maybe so. The thing is, is there any where private enough for me to do so? I am inclined to believe that everything in this hospital has been bugged, in the hopes that they can pick up what I'm saying and put a stop to me before anything else."

"Perhaps we could do it in your room? I promise that I'll keep it strictly confidential and that you'll receive the fullest extent of my protection."

The boy giggled to himself. "Oh my, how forward of you, Munetani-san. But yes, we could go ahead and do it in my room."

 _Classic male humour._

I followed the boy back down the hallways. We passed several rooms, going past Furushou-sensei's room. As I walked by, I saw her still looking out of the window and at the rain pouring down on the hospital's courtyard.

Up another flight of stairs, taking the first left and the last room down the corridor on the right. It turned out to be a communal ward, yet the boy was the only one in here. The other beds were vacant, a thin layer of dust on them.

In a way, it was rather odd. With the land shortages these days, most public facilities would be packed with people who could not access such facilities at sea. For those on floating cities, they did have their basic facilities, but the most prestigious and most well-funded buildings tended to be on land.

"That's about right. The thing is, even I'm not sure why this ward is kept empty. Apart from occasionally checking in on me, the nurses never say anything. The theories I have regarding this, though, would seem quite far-fetched to you. But to me, they seem like the most likely explanation for everything that has happened so far."

I chuckled lightly, "Oops, guess I let it slip out. Well? What sort of theories do you have?"

We were now one ward away from his ward. As he continued walking, he tilted his head backwards, and I mean literally backwards like his neck was going to break at any moment. "Do you believe in conspiracies? That everything that the government does, that your own superiors do, are all small parts of the machinations of something infinitely more complex? Because if you don't, then you won't believe anything that I say."

"Well, I can't say I do… It depends on the context, I guess."

"Hmm… for a first timer, fair enough, I guess."

In an undertone that I barely managed to catch, he murmured, "God knows what we went through back then."

Having reached his room, the boy sat himself on the bed. Gesturing to the bedside chair, he waited as I pulled it out from the bedside so that I could face him. Dusting it off, I smoothed out my skirt as I settled in it. The hard plastic was something familiar, comfortable yet firm.

"Well, to start off…" he paused, tapping a finger to his cheek. "I guess I need to tell you everything from the start. Back when I was serving on board my boat, there was this crew member. He was for some reason was almost always on the bridge. Instead of hanging out with the other crew members of his same department when off shift, he would either be on the bridge talking with the other officers… In fact, he never really went anywhere else.

"The thing is, his family is incredibly linked to this story that I'm going to tell you, so bear with the contextual knowledge for now. His father was married to a scientist that eventually would be involved in the Gene Transfer Experiment…"


	2. Introduction

"Transients! Transients!"  
"Torpedoes in the water! Three torpedoes, one-seven-eight degrees! Distance 1500 metres!"  
"Two torpedoes, three-one-one degrees! Distance 2000 metres!"  
"Four torpedoes, zero-nine-two degrees! Distance–"

A jaw rattling _**boom**_ rocked the submarine, accompanied by the screeching sounds of men and metal. One was torn apart, the other was being crushed by the weight of the ocean. All over the submarine, water began to burst through the hull from fractures along the entire vessel, smothering the men as they scrambled to find a foot hold against the rapidly tilting submarine. With the centre portion of the submarine completely shattered from the torpedo hits, the submarine had broken in half and was sinking, bow and stern both pointing up as if asking a final question _why?_

Even as he turned to look, the captain was being pinned under the broken remains of the planning table, the deputy with his arm broken from his fall. His superior officer, the chief navigator, was missing his head, torn off by the sudden explosion of the ammo storages.

As for him, he was lying propped against the wall, missing his lower half from the detonation that had killed off the rest of the bridge crew. As the roaring flames and rising waters threatened to claim him, all he could do, was wonder how it had come to this.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

It seems that the world of submarines in Haifuri has been left very much uncharted, very much fertile ground for us fanfiction writers. This story is going to be focused on a certain submarine and it's exploits across the world of Haifuri. To those that know me, and for the new reader, I would just like to say that I love it when things get dark. Happiness is fleeting, while the darkness is permanent. That being said, there are still times when we have SoL moments within this story. Haifuri is a Slice of Life anime, and I would not be entirely doing it justice if I were to exclude such a thing from this story.

I update on a weekly basis every Wednesday, so be sure to check back the Haifuri archive for my updates.


	3. Chapter 1

Clouds gathered overhead, casting a shadow onto the town. Waves slapped against the breakers, throwing up foam with an increasing vigour. Several shopkeepers packed up their businesses, shuttering their stores against the picking up wind.

The kid slowly stumbled his way towards the harbour.

He was slightly scuffed up in appearance, with his once white tee shirt now slightly torn and tattered. His own brown pants were crumpled and dirty, and his face and hands coated in a thin layer of dirt and grime. The only thing clean on him, was a white scarf. The scarf, though evidently worn ragged, was still kept in good condition. It was still a clean white, and to the keen eye, was covered in multiple patches and stitches.

Despite the cold winds pulling at his scarf, he reached the stone barriers that lined the harbour, and sat on the rocky ground to watch the ships passing in and out. The residents of the area merely glanced at him and walked away. They had seen him here often enough, and were used to the sight of a little boy, barely 8 years old, out here all by himself. Besides, they knew better than to stay out in the face of the oncoming storm.

 _Let his parents teach him,_ they said. A _nything happens to him and it's their fault anyway_.

The boy knew of the whispers. He just let them curl around his heart and settle there like the cold and wet stone he now leaned against. They did not care anyway. They had taught him not to.

 _Let others say what they want to say about you, but to me, you'll always be my little darling boy._

So he let them.

And then one day, she was gone.

There was no warning. He didn't even know when or where.

Someone had run her over. Someone had stabbed her guts out. Someone had tossed her into the ocean.

What did it matter? She was gone, and that was final.

 _My little darling boy_

He looked up. The sun was already starting to slowly go down. Its orange body touched the ocean like a baby clutching its mother's chest, the clouds closing around it like the falling curtains of an elementary school play.

The boy watched the sun set for a bit more, before turning and making for home.

At least, that's what it's supposed to be called.

* * *

He hid in the chest of books. It was musty and cramped inside, but far better than outside. Outside, the monster was going around, shouting something as it looked for him.

Outside, the _house-room-place_ was a mess. The paint, old and peeling, lay in flakes on the floor. He lived in here, a small house on Tsushima island. It was old and worn, with the walls crumbling and the roof in need of tiling. Still, Oka-san had made the place filled with life. Every day was a joy, the fireplace burning and Oka-san with a warm breakfast ready for him. And then Oka-san went away.

The fireplace went out. Only Oka-san knew how to get a fire going, and while father tried a few times, the fire quickly burnt itself out with no one to stay around and keep it going. The house was cold at nights, and several times father said he was was going to buy those new electric heaters, the ones that Oka-san never liked and that _it was her bitching that prevented him from ever getting the things that they needed in the first place, that it was her fault for the house no longer being warm–_

Father kept doing that. He'd pause in whatever he was doing, and either start cursing and screaming or just muttering something under his breath. The muttering was worst. When he started doing that, if the kid didn't get out of the way in time, Father would start hitting him. When he started drinking, things got worse.

At first Father had tried to keep things up. He worked harder at his jobs, working two jobs just to keep the both of them going. Then, because he started muttering at the workplace and apparently did _something_ to another worker, he was fired. In a fit of anger, he came home and let it all out on the kid. When he was done, he went out drinking.

It kept on repeating. Father would go out and work, then come home before leaving to drink or just buying back several cartons of beer to bring home. That was when the kid knew.

That monster was not his father.

Sometimes, there had been hope. Father would wake up in the morning crying, clutching the kid's hand like a dying man, begging for forgiveness. He would weep as he bowed at the kid's feet, promising to never do it again, that he would gladly jumped off a building as punishment for his deeds. The kid, crying in return, would plead with Father to get up again, that he forgave him. The peace would last for a while, a few days at a time.

But the monster could never be banished for long.

Every day the monster would go away, but every night, the monster came back, creeping in like the shadows of the dying sun. Prowling around, stumbling over the unfamiliarity of it own home. Hunting for him.

Here in the chest of books, he was safe. The monster never thought to look for him here.

Outside, something smashed into a million pieces, along with a cascade of pebbles. The monster shouted something else, and must have thrown its beer bottle too. It hit the side of the chest, shattering apart and drenching the boy in the disgusting smell of booze.

The fumes worked their way up his nose, causing his eyes to water and a choked whimper to burst out of his throat. He clamped his hands over his mouth, praying hard that no one heard that.

There was silence outside.

Perhaps the monster had gone to sleep?

 _"found you…"_

The chest was flipped over, throwing the boy out along with the rest of the books. He cried out, hitting the ground with his shoulder as books tumbled all over him. Holding in his tears, for fear of what the monster would do to him, he stayed curled up on the ground as the monster huffed and puffed barely an arm's distance away. The monster tossed aside the chest, causing a loud bang as it hit the far end of the room. The boy jerked but stayed still.

There was no warning. In the blink of an eye, he found himself yowling in pain as the monster grabbed him by the hair, lifting him a clear foot off the ground.

 _"brat, look what you've done!"_

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

 _"you… you did this to us… to ME!"_

"Please–"

 _"you bastard, you're the reason why she went away!"_

The monster started hitting him, and all the boy could do was scream as he kept trying to beg for mercy. The monster didn't let up though, until the kid had stopped crying and he grew tired of having to hold him off the ground with one hand for so long.

Screaming something incoherent, the monster threw the kid, causing him to land among the broken remains of the priceless fake Ming Vase.

"I'm… s-sorry…"

The monster didn't hear him, instead kicking the boy to the side as it stumbled its way out of the house. Once the door had been slammed shut and the monster far enough away, did the boy try to move.

"Ow…"

The kid carefully dragged himself away from the porcelain shards. Once done, he plucked out the shards that were still stuck in him, after which he wiped the blood off him as he pulled out the hand held dustpan. Blinking the tears out of his eyes, he busied himself sweeping away the porcelain pieces.

He winced as the cuts on his hand were forced to bend and stretch. Blood seeped out of the reopening wounds, running through his fingers and making them stick together.

It didn't take long before the house was back as it should. Except for the pale spot on the ground where a massive vase once stood and the dent in the wall where a chest had been thrown, it was as if the monster hadn't come for him that night.

* * *

The kid was back by the harbour again. Today's weather was better, the storm from the last few nights finally giving way to the warm of the sun. He let it soak into him, lightening his soul.

There had been a few new people in school today, which was surprising since one of them was a foreigner. The kid didn't care though. The new people had definitely seen him. Or at least heard of him from the other students. He just let it settle in him, ignoring the tightening feeling around his heart that weighed him down again to reality.

"Sugoi, desu nee?"

The kid nearly jumped at the sudden voice. He looked to his left, and to his confusion a foreign kid looked back at him. The foreigner was smiling as he offered his hand. This guy was familiar…

"Watashi wa... Kevin-san"

The kid stared at the hand like he didn't know what to do with it. What _was_ he supposed to do? It had been so long–

 _Right!_

He stretched out his own right hand, and the foreigner, seeing this, took another step forwards to grip the kid's hand firmly with his own.

"Namae wa?"

His mind blanked. The guy was asking for his name. No one ever did that anymore.

"W-watashi… wa… H-hashimoto Norita to moshimasu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!" He followed it up with a bow, long ingrained habits kicking in at last.

The foreigner blinked. The kid could almost see the foreigner's brain twisting as it tried to find something to say. That, or he was trying to piece something together to say without looking like a fool. Norita could tell that the kid was not as fluent in Japanese as he would have liked.

"Eh…"

Norita took the lead. "H-how are y-you...?"

The foreigner was delighted, immediately rattling off something in English that for all Norita knew could have been Greek. On seeing the kid's confused and awkward face, the foreigner – Kevin! His name was Kevin! – stopped his rambling and had the decency to look bashful.

The next day, Norita was standing in his usual spot again when a familiar voice called out. "Hashimoto-san!"

Norita's head jerked up. Turning in the direction of the voice, he found the same boy from yesterday. He was wearing something new, a blue polo tee with creamy white cargo pants but the face still remained the same. Bounding over in that strange, long-legged gait of his, Kevin came to a stop just before Norita. There was a wide grin on his face.

From that day on, the kid kept coming back to the harbour to watch the ships, and his new friend would show up to talk to him as well. Over time, their constant interactions helped each other get a basic grasp of each other's languages. Norita found out that Kevin was an American child, who had come to Japan to wait for his father. He was really proud of his father, who he said was part of a really cool ship. In return, he revealed to Kevin how his mother was a brilliant person. From what he had gathered from the neighbours and his father, Oka-san was really smart, having studied at and gotten a Doctorate in Medicine at Sapporo Medical University.

Oka-san and Father had met while she was in Hokkaido at a roadside stall. Since that day, they were drawn together and eventually married each other. Oka-san held some important job at a biomedical research facility, somewhere in Yokohama. Everyday Oka-san had to take a long trip from her hometown in Hokkaido to reach the facility, and every night take a similarly long trip home.

Father was just a college student at Kushiro, Hokkaido prefecture. He lived there at a dormitory for 3 years of his life, and afterwards went to work as a gas station attendant in Gunma prefecture. No one knew anything more about them. This house on Tsushima was Father's familial home, the house which he had grown up in. He had left it due to his studies, and rarely came back. Why the two were on Tsushima, Norita didn't know. He had been too young to remember why and any attempts to ask Father had resulted in a beer can to the face.

* * *

The two friends were joined by their love for ships. To one of them, the ships represented being able to go away and never come back. To the other, the ships represented the return of a wonderful father. They shared what they knew of passing tankers with each other, Kevin bringing with him a boatload of information that Norita had never dreamt of before. Supertankers, fleet oilers, warships, ammunition cargo ships, bulk carriers, container ships, reefer ships, Liberty-class ships and so many more. In the span of a few conversations, everything that Norita had ever known was blown right out of the water. There were so many different things that floated and carried this from place to place that he had been awestruck for days. Eventually, things died down to normalcy. They would meet, they would chat, and they would leave. Life started becoming monotone and dull.

And then, the day happened. It was going to be another one of those boring, nothing-to-do kind of days, until Kevin did his most favourite thing in the world. He opened his mouth.

"Say… I still have a few more days before my father comes in. Do you want to go out before then?"

"Huh? You mean, go out with you?" Norita asked.

"Yeah sure! Like have lunch together or something. I'm sure there are many things to do here in Tsushima!"

Norita tactfully avoided mentioning that Tsushima didn't really have much to do –at least the things he felt Kevin would like– when Kevin started to drag him away.

"K-Kevin-san! Where are we going?!"

"To go have fun, of course!"

The two boys went around the town, hitting up the local arcade, buying and eating ice cream in the park, and just generally enjoying themselves. Initially Norita was ashamed at how he couldn't help to at least pay for some of the things they did, but Kevin was happy enough to absorb all their expenses.

He claimed that he had too much money anyway, so going out and spending it with a friend would be a better thing to do than just letting it sit in his pocket and turn mouldy. Norita wanted to point out the flaw in that logic, but Kevin overrode him, asking if Norita was having fun. When Norita immediately replied yes, then Kevin would go on to say that then he too was having fun as well, just in his own way.

As the two boys stood at the harbour once again, this time each holding up an ice cream cone, Norita had felt… lighter. Like something wonderful had happened to him today, and it was making him feel like he could fly.

For some reason, his next lick of the cone tasted salty.

"E-eh?! You're crying! Norita, are you alright?"

"Y-yes, Kevin-san. Its j-just that no one h-has done this for me before…"

"Ah…" Kevin stood there feeling like a fool. Still, he had to do something, so he just reached out and gave Norita a careful hug to avoid squishing his friend's ice cream. Throwing all caution to the wind, Norita just embraced his friend harder, causing the bigger boy to glance around, embarrassed.

Still… it felt nice.

Finally, Norita extracted himself. "T-thank you, Kevin-san. I guess I needed that."

Kevin smiled at his friend. "Well, if you have anything you want to talk about, just tell me okay?"

"I will!"

As Norita left for home, Kevin felt a sharp twisting feeling inside his gut.

 _I still haven't told him yet_

A light drizzle started to fall as Kevin watched his friend's retreating back.

* * *

That night, the monster was out and about again. Norita could hear him even before he entered the house, throwing things around and screaming. He really didn't want to do anything. He really didn't want to go back inside. He knew what the monster wanted anyway.

He sat outside the house on the chipped pavement, doing his best not to cry as inside, the noise kept going on.

The next day, Norita carefully poked his head back inside the house. Having made sure that the monster was sound asleep, having tired itself out last night, Norita snuck in to grab his school things. It was a mistake. As he was hurriedly fitting on his uniform, he heard heavy breathing right behind him.

Norita gulped.

Kevin reached their usual waiting point, surprised that today he was first to arrive. He waited there until evening, when he decided that perhaps Norita wasn't going to show today.

He went home, feeling conflicted and confused.

~  
Norita still failed to show up the next day.

~  
Or the next.

When Norita had finally shown up again at their meeting point, Kevin was about to start scolding him for not telling him anything, when he saw his friend's state.

He called the police.

* * *

Sirens. The white cars parked outside the building wailed away as inside, the police battered down the door. Somehow the man had found out about the police raid, and had barricaded the door. The police had to use the battering ram to get the door down. Once they had managed to get the door out of the way, they charged into the room.

It was over within moments.

All this while, Kevin clutched Norita close as the poor boy screamed for his father.

They never did tell him what his father had done.

When the police had finally come out, Norita had calmed himself down into quieted sobbing. Kevin didn't bother to tell him that it was over.

Norita didn't notice the body bag that the police took with them.

Kevin chose not to comment.

The moon stared down at the scene, impassively watching from behind a curtain of clouds.

* * *

After the incident, Kevin's mother was happy enough to adopt Norita into their home. She looked after the boy, and made arrangements with the homeowners. Two days after the incident, Kevin's mother decided that it was fine for Norita to leave the house for just a short trip.

Since the weather was fine, the two boys went out to the harbour again. Kevin looked out over the ocean waves, enjoying the ocean breeze that ruffled his hair. To his right, Norita just stood there, his head looking downwards at his feet.

"Hey, Norita."

The boy reacted, looking over at Kevin's smiling face.

"I've been thinking: we need to give you a Christian name."

Seeing his friend's blank look, Kevin elaborated.

"That's an English name. We've got to give you one."

"…why?"

"Just because. Besides, you know me." At that last part, Kevin gave Norita the best dazzling smile he could muster.

"…"

Undaunted by his friend's unresponsiveness, Kevin pressed on. "I know! I'm gonna call you…"

He paused for effect.

"Marvin."

Norita looked at him like he had gone mad.

"Yup! That's what I'll call you from now on. Marvin! Marvin!"

"…that's just because your name ends with 'vin' as well."

Kevin stopped his little jig, glancing over at Marvin who was giving him his usual gentle, pathetic smile.

"Seriously, how egoistic can you get, Kevin-san?"

Kevin smiled

"It's good to have you back, Norita-san."

* * *

It was August. Three months had passed since the day he met Kevin, and Marvin still wasn't sure if it was a good thing for his mental health. The American boy had a habit of grating Marvin's nerves to get a good reaction out of him, and moments later making it up through a good natured banter or Marvin's stomach.

Ice cream cones were great.

But today, today was a special day. Kevin had dragged Marvin on their family trip down to the Yokosuka Naval Base. They were on Tsushima because it had a more remote and relaxed atmosphere, which they had believed Kevin's father would enjoy after his long trip at sea. Kevin was just exploding with happiness. Marvin on the other hand, was literally vibrating with excitement. He had never managed to get this close to the ships before. It was almost too much for him to believe.

The harbour for the Naval station was expectedly clean and organised, with the seagulls flying in from the ocean. Blueish-green waves pounded the surf, stronger than before. Already, the signs of a storm, while far off, was just visible over the horizon. However, over here at the Yokosuka Naval Base, the sun was still shining bright as the throngs of families walked down the harbour. It is rare enough that the Naval Base would open up for outsiders to come in. There were even a group of four shrine maidens walking with the families, wearing decidedly non-traditional shrine maiden uniforms of black, red, green and blue.

Some pretty Blue Mermaid lady was guiding the families along the harbour, making sure that no one did anything stupid like jump off the piers or stowaway on some ship. Marvin could care less about that. Right now, he was going to meet a ship up close, not from far away like he was used to.

The families were crowding around the binocular mounts, and thankfully Kevin's mother had the foresight to bring along her own binoculars for the boys to use. Marvin was scanning the ocean when suddenly the excited cries of a group of middle school girls caused him to swing the binoculars over to see what they shouting about.

He watched in pure fascination as a dark shape rose out of the depths. The waters parted around the shape, throwing up a terrific froth as the thing still kept coming up. Somewhere in front of the shape, the rest of the machine was ascending. He passed the binoculars to Kevin as he tracked the machine with his own eyes. Already the machine's bow could be seen above the surface as the machine slowed down.

The next hour was spent watching the tugboats pushing and pulling the machine alongside the pier.

As the machine came alongside, the upper hatch opened as a sailor climbed out. He was followed by two more sailors, at which Kevin started screaming and hooting.

Marvin could not believe it.

This thing…

Where a ship going under meant death, this thing just came out from the waves like breathing. It was unnatural… and very satisfying.

Marvin knew what he wanted to do.

As Kevin embraced his father, Marvin felt that lightness from so long ago take hold of him.

He was going to become one of them.

He was going to be a submariner.

* * *

 **End Prologue**


	4. Chapter 2

It was not a long journey.

The shuttle ferry had taken only a few hours to travel from Tsushima to Toumai, where he had disembarked and made his way to the school. Having gone in and reported his attendance, he mingled with the other students as he waited for the opening speech.

Despite that, the students who were here had come in their cliques, and it had proven too difficult to just barge in on their conversations. That's why in less than half an hour, Marvin had found himself standing at the boat pens, admiring the submarines berthed there.

 _One of them will be mine_

He knew what his assignment was to be. The I-201, an old and reliable submarine, it had a very strong track record in the school's database, having been put through so many challenges and yet always able to welcome in new recruits. These sort of submarines were hard to find, as they often had to be pulled back from sorties some time or another because of problems. Despite that, the I-201 had yet to suffer any catastrophic breakdowns over its 12 years of service.

He was still pleased to note that he was not going to be taking too big a responsibility on the submarine though. He was to be the Assistant Navigator, a very heavy responsibility to be sure, but not as heavy as that of the Navigation Officer himself.

It was how he liked things to be. He would be the background noise, while others took centre stage.

On knowing his assignment, his adoptive family/sponsors had congratulated him over the phone, with Kevin proudly telling him that he too was awaiting his own results. Kevin had applied to the Yorktown Boy's Naval Academy, another prestigious school of submariners.

In fact, he should have received his letter a few weeks ago. Marvin wondered why his best friend had never called to tell him the results–

"Maaarrrvvviiinnnn...!"

 _What?_

Marvin spun around on hearing someone call his name and was glomped by one overenergetic and familiar American boy.

The two boys fell over onto the floor, where the friendly greeting turned into a wrestling match. When the dust had settled, Marvin was being crushed by the boy, who had him in an armlock. The boy panted as he struggled to regain his breath.

"Yield?"

"Yield."

The boys released each other, the boy pulling Marvin up onto his feet. "It's been so long mate."

"Yes, it is, Kevin-san."

"Aw come on, I told you to stop being so formal around me! If you have to use something, just call me -kun."

Marvin just gave his best friend a small smile. "Sure, Kevin-kun."

His best friend had not changed a bit. The boy was just as loud, energetic and blonde as ever, and it seemed his return to America had done his body wonders. Given how Kevin was affectionately rubbing Marvin's head, the muscles Marvin could feel were not just for show.

"So, you made it!"

"Yeah, I did–"

"Guess what? I did too!"

"Eh?" For a brief moment, Marvin had a very strange impression of Kevin trying to fit into I-201, the American kid clogging up the entry hatch with his bulky build.

"I made it into Yorktown! Isn't that great?" Kevin clarified. "And since we start a week later that you, I came over with my family to see you off."

 _"Adele-san and Barret-san are here?"_ His voice came out somewhat strangled. These guys coming here had Marvin floored.

" **Hello there, kiddo.** "

"!" Marvin nearly screamed at the sudden voice from right behind him. It was so baritone that fog horns **wished** they were as manly as him! Behind Marvin, was possibly the bulkiest man he had seen in a long time. The man was blonde, muscular and had a funny handlebar moustache that even after all these years still gave Marvin the temptation to tug on it. He was well built and tanned, probably having spent shore leave working out to build back his body.

The first time Marvin had seen him, the man was leaner and less… developed that this muscular man before him. Needless to say, his brain had pretty much ground to a halt on seeing him.

" **I would just like to say son, congratulations on making it in. I hear that it is** ** _especially_** **tough to enter at this time of the year,** " Barret Dealey said, his rumbling voice nearly terrifying the wits out of the boy.

"Y-yes… sir… Thank y-you sir" Marvin stammered back, his left hand clenched behind his back to stop the trembling.

Barret reached over and clapped Marvin on the shoulder, before turning to his son, " **It's time to go** "

"Okay, Daddy. Hey Marvin," Kevin turned around to face Marvin. "Whenever you get back on land, don't forget to write to us, okay?"

Marvin embraced Kevin, smiling brightly, "Of course I will. Good luck over there Kevin."

Kevin laughed, bear hugging Marvin, "Sure, you too, okay?"

As Kevin released Marvin, Marvin just waved goodbye to the retreating father and son. They were his adoptive family/sponsors/benefactors, who had agreed to help fund his education in Japan. They were just that nice after all.

That, and there was _that_ other thing, but Marvin didn't like to think about it.

 _"All first year students, please gather at pier 3. The principle's speech will begin in fifteen minutes."_

* * *

Having arrived in the middle of the crowd, not to his surprise, Marvin found himself unable to really see the man himself. What he did manage to catch a glimpse of was the man's famously bald head, a shining sun surrounded by a ring of greying hair.

That, and his face looked like a frog.

Despite the snickering of some students, the man delivered his speech. It was simple and to the point, and in as many words: Submarines are serious business, everyone here is important to the future of the country, so go out there and learn the Way of the Submarine, for when you return to shore, you would have grown into a rugged, mentally strong man capable of taking on the challenges the nation will face.

It was rather bland, in Marvin's opinion, though he noticed some people were hanging onto every word the man had spoken. One of them stood out to him, a bucktoothed boy wearing a pair of rather thick glasses.

Once they were dismissed to their submarines, Marvin immediately went over to the boy. The boy failed to notice Marvin coming up behind him until Marvin placed his hand on his shoulder.

The boy turned to face him, and they simultaneously gasped.

"Norita-kun?"

"Yahachi-kun?"

The two boys stared each other down, before breaking out laughing as they shook each other's hands.

"It's good to see a friendly face around. How has it been for you?" Marvin asked, as he started walking towards the I-201.

"Just great. Managed to get my glider model to start working. Given time, I'm sure I can get it to run on its own power." Marvin tried not to snicker at that.

"You still not giving up on that project of yours?"

"No way!" Yahachi replied. "This thing can work! There's just some problems that I need to work out first…"

"Like your brain, perhaps?"

As the two boys talked, they reached the I-201's gangway. "I guess this is it for me, where are you posted at anyway?"

Yahachi looked at him like Norita was being daft. "You mean we've been talking for so long, and never asked each other our postings?"

"Eh..."

"I'm here, on the I-201."

"Oh."

The two friends walked up the gangway, and stopping at the entrance hatch, Norita clambered down first.

* * *

Apart from the walls of the submarine curving inwards like a claustrophobia inducer, there were pipes and wires running the length of the submarine's interior. A quick glance at the map told him the crew bunks were forward of the officer bunks, so he quickly made his way over to dump his things. There weren't too many people running about inside the submarine, so Norita had to assume that the others were either busy in some other part of the submarine or they had yet to arrive. Claiming the bottom bunk for himself and Yahachi the top, the two boys splits up. Yahachi had been assigned to Engineering, while Norita was assigned to Navigation. The other two cabin mates had yet to arrive.

Reporting back to the command centre, he attempted to find his superior. There were only three boys here in the command centre. One of them was obviously the captain, going by the captain's hat he wore. He went to approach the two other boys.

"–firing solution would be too difficult."

"Then, if we go around this formation? The currents can help move the sub without us needing to use too much of our propellers."

"And then what? Run out of air and electricity before we get into place?"

"Well, you come up with something that has a decent chance in hell–"

"Excuse me."

The two boys looked up from their discussion. They were hunched over a large table in the command centre with a bunch of charts spread out over the table. The first guy talking was wearing a red jacket tied around his waist, while the second guy was wearing his orange sweater.

"Hello, my name is Hashimoto Norita. I am the Assistant Navigator, and I look forward to working with you," Norita offered his olive branch, bowing as far as he dared in the confined space. Now, if they would take it…

"Hi, my name is Sakamoto Kuzuki, I'm the Chief Torpedo officer, and I will be responsible for fire control and stuff like that," the red jacket guy replied, extending a hand for Norita to shake.

"As for me, I'm Nishina Kawabe. I'm your commanding officer, Chief Navigation Officer. I most certainly look forwards to working with you," said the boy with the orange sweater. Norita having shaken Sakamoto's hand, shook hands with Nishina. It didn't escape Norita's attention how his superior officer had shaken hnads with _him_ , a lowly subordinate!

"Thank you," Norita told both boys. "If I may ask, may I know what problem are the two of you discussing?"

The boys showed him the maps, with mini plastic figurines of submarines placed on the map. "Ok, the situation's like this. We are this submarine," Nishina pointed to the red plastic piece. "And the enemy are these pieces," he pointed to the other 3 grey plastic pieces. "The challenge is for us to find a way out of this pincer," he gestured to the three submarines encroaching on the red piece from three different directions.

Norita studied the set up for a moment, and running a few calculations, he moved the grey pieces around slightly. Doing that, he kept repeating the action, running calculations and shifting the pieces until he said, "Ok, this is when you fire the torpedo."

The two boys looked at him like he had an extra head. Norita sighed as he then began to explain himself. "The enemy knows we are in this general area. That's why they are using the prong method. It's a way for the two subs at the front to hem in any submarines in the middle. Now, the thing with this setup is that the enemy pieces only know our general locations. At this point, they will not yet dare to fire a torpedo. We use this to shift the submarine using," he pulled over the underwater current charts "this stream. The submarine will be swept towards this submarine on the left prong.

"They will not notice us. Submarines do not use active sonar for this, unless they want to give themselves away. So, we drift until we are within 1,000m, at which point we fire a torpedo at them. They will not be able to react in time, we take out the left prong, and we escape."

The boys looked over the map and the scenario that Norita had just described. "What if they do use active sonar?"

"Then perhaps we have the torpedoes ready for action. Their active sonar would only tell them where we are. They won't be prepared for an immediate attack, since they are just searching instead of aiming. We use that moment to fire our own torpedo at them. I prefer getting as close as we can, but this will be fine as well."

Engrossed as the boys were in the tactical scenario, none of them noticed the captain coming over. "Oh hey," he commented as he approached the boys. Immediately the three of them whirled around and saluted him, Norita's heart beating wildly in his chest.

"At ease guys, my name is Yonehara Daigo, and I'm your captain. What's the interesting discussion about here?"

"Sir," Sakamoto replied. "We are discussing possible tactics to defeat enemy submarine formations, sir."

"Oh? Enlighten me."

Norita spoke up next, repeating his plan to the captain. "…it should work, given what we know of the currents in that area and standard protocol of our submarines."

"Then what if they do not follow protocol?"

"They will have a much lower chance of survival out there then."

The captain smiled at Norita's answer. "Not certain on what would happen?"

"Sir, with all due respect, I cannot see the future. If I could, I wouldn't be giving any estimates and predictions, and just telling you what _will_ happen. That's why everything that I say has to be taken with a pinch of salt, like everyone else. We do not see the future. We cannot give a perfect prediction–"

"Enough." The captain cut Norita off, his smile still on his face. "There's no need to get that worked up, I know what you're trying to say."

Norita backed down, blushing slightly in embarrassment. _Of all ways to have a first impression, and you ruined it!_

"For now, though, I want to have everyone in here in the next fifteen minutes. The instructor will be coming aboard soon. Do you guys know if my secretary is here yet?"

The three boys looked at each other and shook heads.

"Ah well, guess I have to make that announcement myself."

As the captain went over to the microphone, the boys went back to their discussion.

* * *

 _"Attention all crew members, this is your captain speaking. I want all of you in the bridge in fifteen minutes."_

As one, the boys all over the submarine began making their way towards the bridge. Norita helped Nishina pack away his charts while Sakamoto folded up the table. With the addition of the Instructor, there were a total of 32 people crammed into the tiny space.

"Alright, men. Attention!" barked the Instructor.

The 31 boys sharply stood at attention, saluting the Instructor with a loud "Hai, Taichou!"

The Instructor glanced around at the boys. She did a quick head count, and ordered the captain to the front. Yonehara did so, saluting the Instructor.

"Crew of the I-201, this will be your maiden voyage. You will be spending the great majority of your time here below decks, cramped in this hell hole of a moving torpedo. By the time you return to shore, I expect to see not boys, but men! Do I make myself clear?"

"YES MA'AM!"

"Good! You are dismissed. Set sail in fifteen minutes." With her last order, the Instructor left the submarine.

Yonehara turned to address the crew, "Ok, you heard the lady. Prepare to set sail!"

The boys rushed off, making sure everything was bolted down and rigged for sailing. Norita brought the table back out for the charts to be spread out on. As the command crew prepared the command centre for sail, Norita dashed back to his room. Returning, he took out a document tube. Inside, were multiple pieces of large transparencies. Taking his marker, he then quickly began aligning the transparencies to the map. All around him, the engines rumbled to life as he felt the vibrations through his feet.

Norita was soon joined by Nishina, who helped him tape down the last transparency to the charts. "Alright, thanks man."

"No problem. You have markers right?"

"Yeah. I've got to go."

Rushing over to the wheel, Nishina took control as he began to give orders to the enginemen. "Increase power to 15 percent on the diesels. What's the sounding under the keel?"

 _"20m and holding."_

The submarine gently eased its way out of port, guided by a tugboat. Once clear of the harbour, the captain retreated back inside the command centre. Nishina looked over at the captain, and raised an eyebrow. The captain nodded in answer.

Nishina asked sonar for another depth check.

 _"80m and increasing… holding now at 150m."_

"Ok, take her down to 100m."

"Yes Captain," turning back to the task at hand, Nishina repeated the order across the ship. _"Rig for dive. Switch to electric drive"_

It took a while before each section had announced that the ship was rigged for dive, at which point the descent began.

It was a terrifying feeling. Norita could feel the submarine sinking, feeling it move out further into the sea. He grabbed a marker and began to plot out the submarine's position on the charts. Meanwhile, the captain went over to the mission cabinet. There, he and the deputy captain inserted their keys into the two keyed lock, and turned. Opening it, they retrieved a manila envelope. Yonehara took out the mission files, and spread them out on the planning table. Norita had to move the charts to make space for the captain.

As the submarine levelled out at its depth of 100m, Yonehara, the deputy captain poured over the mission files with his deputy, following which he took to the microphone.

 _"Attention, this is your captain speaking. My name is Yonehara Daigo, and I look forwards to working well with you. As long as you do your job well, to your utmost, then I will see to it that you are duly rewarded._

 _"Today, we sail for our first training exercise. We will sail for the Ogasawara islands. There, we will attempt to detect and take down another submarine, the I-58. After we defeat it, we will go on to our next mission, which I will only release then._

 _"For our mission to be a success, I need the fullest cooperation from all of you. Only when every man does his utmost, will we pass the test to become full-fledged submariners. I wish you all the best, and may the Emperor be with us."_

Ending the message, the captain turned to the rest of his bridge crew. "How was it?"

"Eh…"

"Well…"

"…"

"Aw come on, it's not _that_ bad, right?"

"…"

"Eh…" the captain awkwardly trailed off.

* * *

As the submarine made its way South East, Norita eventually stopped his tracking to leave for lunch. On entering the mess hall, he grabbed an extra plate of food – shredded chicken in gravy with white rice – for Nishina. Having finished his meal quickly, he left the mess, not bothering to stick around and listen in on the gossip.

Back at the bridge, he handed Nishina his plate, and held the wheel for him while Nishina ate his meal. The charts on the table were once again cleared out of the way for Nishina's war games. The players were Sakamoto and Nakamura. The two players were equally calculative and cold, and both of them liked to consider themselves good at strategy.

Again, it was the submarine question. How does one submarine escape from three enemy submarines searching for it?

Norita just watched the chart he had pinned up for himself in front of the wheel. He knew roughly where they were, and it was just a long straight path for now. Nishina had cleared the slightly difficult "run" earlier where they weaved through the maze of shipwrecks and coral reefs to avoid detection by other ASW machines. In fact, they had been underwater for so long, that it was going to be time for the submarine to surface to replenish air supplies. At 15 minutes before the scheduled resupply, he broadcasted to the sub to prepare for surfacing.

The captain was back on the bridge in time for Norita to begin.

 _"Dive fins to five degrees up. Ballast, bring us up."_

The two engineers responded well, the submarine beginning her climb. As the submarine reached a roughly 10 degree climb he told dive fins to keep them on a 15-degree plane. The submarine broached the surface not too long after, with the vents opening to expel stale air. The periscope went up to look around and to run the diesel engines. Here, the submarine would remain surfaced for the rest of their journey.

It was going to be a long journey, covering a distance of over five hundred nautical miles. Norita had helped plan this out, he simply didn't envy the amount of standing he would have to endure for the next 12 hours.

While he stood at the wheel, his thoughts drifted over to how he had ended up in the submarine. 11 decades ago, Japan had won the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. From there, their desperate need to replace wartime losses in men and material lead Japan to discover the massive deposits of Methane Hydrate their islands sat upon. Ever since then, Japan had devoted themselves to collecting and using that very Methane Hydrate deposit.

The Methane Hydrate was extremely useful, decomposing into methane gas which proved a very good fuel. This newly-found self sufficiency had led the once warmongering nation to step back and enjoy their new found wealth. This hadn't lasted for too long.

In 1923, Japan suffered its greatest natural disaster when the city Iwaki, of Fukushima prefecture, sank 16m beneath sea level. A great many lives had been lost, and when the official investigations were carried out, results pointed towards an expanding cavern beneath the city, which had once been filled with Methane Hydrate. The mining of the chemical had caused water to flow into the space, quickening the decomposition into methane gas and the sudden loss of foundation for most of the city. By the time the results came out, it was far too late to stop the resulting chain reaction. City after City, town after town sank as the newly created cavern network beneath Japan literally caused all the home islands to sink.

Relief methods were in place, with the IJN providing many of their ships to house refugees, and the government looking into ways to built floating buildings. Within 5 years of the sinking, the first floating city of Tokyo was established. From then on, floating cities sprung up, one after another. Given how now Japan relied almost literally on the sea for survival, it was decided that educating the youth to take up a niche position in the Navy or other Marine-related occupations would be the best way to go. That's why the first Marine High School, Yokosuka Girl's Marine High School was established in 1934. Built over the remains of Japan's former Yokosuka Naval Base, the floating school provided over 300 jobs for teachers and staff, over 1600 jobs for engineers and other support staff and a place for over 500 students in its first year. The school kept expanding since then, with other schools similarly being built and opened, with very encouraging results.

Fast forward to 2015, there were a whole range of Marine schools to choose from. Apart from the famous school at Yokosuka, there were others at Sasebo, Kure, Maizuru, Hiroshima and Nagasaki that specialised in preparing youth for positions in the navy, be it the Blue Mermaids or the Silent Service. At other schools across Japan, the Marine schools trained their youth for life in the Marine industry, such as trade shipping, fishing and the like.

As the captain went up the sail with the lookout, Norita couldn't help but notice the glances the secretary kept throwing at the hatch the two had just disappeared into. The secretary caught him looking, and quickly scurried away towards the Officers' rooms. Looking around him for the first time, Norita realised just how lonely he was. Everyone had bugged out once the submarine had surfacing, leaving Norita the only one left in the bridge.

"Ah... wish I had some music up here..."

* * *

Mission Log

Time: 0000 GMT  
Details: Submarine I-201 has set sail and is making for Ogasawara island. I-201 will be expected to reach the sector in 96 hours. There, the submarine I-201 will engage in a search-and-destroy mission with the target submarine.

Personal Observations: We are making good headway into our trip. The crew has been responsive to commands given, but there are still some people who need straightening out. Something's not right with that captain. He acts like a man possessed, like there's something he's hiding. I don't think it's bad, just that there's something we need to look into regarding the captain. From the notes that I have received, the crew consists of several suspicious people that have been blacklisted as dangerous. Most of them are known to pose a danger to the safekeeping of national secrets. One of them is [REDACTED].

Father, this is something that might be of concern.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Hi guys, thanks for coming. To those who know me from before, yes I have returned. For how long, I don't know, since this is a lull in my studies that I'm using to write with. As stated on my profile page, I have been busy writing while I was away, but have not yet uploaded them on my account. I won't actually upload those stuff yet, until I finish this story, since I don't want to split my readers' attention.

In other news, I have updated the Prologue. It's cleaner, more detailed, and I hope it's now up to your liking, Wisconsin.

Additionally, FF. net seems to have a problem with the reviews. They're not showing up when they should, and I can't PM you back. No worries, I can still read your reviews, so keep them coming.

This story is set about one year before the events of Haifuri, which means that no, the guys will not be fighting the Harekaze. I still intend to take them there, but they need a world building of their own first. The world of the Boy's Schools in Haifuri is very undeveloped, and since I'm from a Boy's School, I _cannot_ let this go unchecked. For all I know everything I have ever written about submarines might be false, but to the best of my knowledge (and Tom Clancy's) everything related to submarines and ASW is real.

So, I hope that you guys have enjoyed this tale for where it is today, and there will be more to come in the following weeks. I update every Wednesday (GMT +0800).

BTW, I hope you guys spotted all the references so far.

And pleaseplease _please_ go check out Hieda no Akyuu. He's an awesome writer, whose masterpiece Ambience: A Fleet Symphony is one of my top favourites.


	5. Chapter 3

Drifting along, the whale had lived for a long time. Reaching into its fifth year of existence, the whale had seen many things and done many things over the course of its life.

This was something it had never seen coming.

The submarine rammed the whale broadside, hitting it with the force of a 4-thousand-ton metal machine going at 20 knots. The metal of the hull shook from the impact, throwing the boys down as a tearing sound filled the submarine.

The pressure hull, severely crushed from the impact, went down under the pressure of a hundred metres of water. Water flooded into the forward torpedo room, sweeping away the sailors as their protective gear engaged. Each boy was encased in a pressurised ball of nylon. The captain, realising the dangers, ordered the crew to blow all ballast and for full rise on the diving planes. The submarine rose, angling upwards as the buoyancy forces lifted the sub up. The ramming of the whale had disrupted the entire submarine's systems, causing shock damage to all equipment from the torpedo tubes to the rice cooker.

Right now, the submarine had lost all power due to the crash disabling the motors that drove the screws. It was rising on buoyancy forces alone.

This soon turned out to be a mistake.

Tilting upwards, the men struggled to find a proper hand or foot hold as they found themselves falling over. Random pieces of equipment or tools fell from their places, striking against the unlucky boy in their path. The table inside the bridge pinned the captain and his navigation officer against the wall while they struggled to escape its weight.

The submarine's angle kept increasing, from a gentle 15 degree slope to near vertical as it broached the surface, rising out of the water like a steel monolith.

The submarine slammed down, throwing the crew members around as the submarine's lower hull shook and dented from the impact. Crew picked themselves up, staggering as they struggled to get out via the escape hatches, others helping to carry their injured comrades out of the stricken submarine. Most of them poured out of the hatch on the topside of the submarine. Those in the flooded or flooding rooms used the built in escape hatches to make their escape. It was the forward torpedo room that had the most trouble.

They had to remove their safety equipment, the inflatable "beach ball" safety device that cocooned the user in a pressurized ball of nylon. The ball was only getting in the way of the escape hatch, and since they were on the surface, the boys didn't need to use the exposure suit that was designed to protect them from the crushing depth. The submarine with a gaping tear in the front bow was still taking on water, causing those trapped inside the forward torpedo room to be thrown around by the rushing water, despite their attempt to get to the hatch. When they did get the hatch open, only one person was able to squeeze into the escape trunk at a time. As the crew started leaving one by one, there were only three boys still inside the torpedo room when further trouble struck.

Having taken on too much water, the submarine was losing its buoyancy reserves fast. As the fourth last boy left the submarine, he had only just gotten clear of the hatch when the ominous creaking of the submarine got worse. The buoyancy reserves that had been keeping the submarine on the surface were depleting too fast. The boy had just gotten clear of the submarine, and as he started trying to pull the next person out when the submarine started sinking.

His friend screamed as he felt himself being dragged down, but the awkward angle at which his body was trapped in the escape trunk kept him pinned, all while his friend kept tugging at his hands, refusing to let go. The boy looked desperately at him. He could already feel the loss of his breath, the darkness taking him over.

 _I don't want to die_.

He kept pulling, clutching his friend's hand in terror, even as his vision swam.

Eventually, the boy could do no more, being wrenched away from his friend by the mass of the sinking _Kuroshio_.

There was nothing else that could be done.

* * *

"Conn, sonar"

"Conn aye, Captain speaking. What is it?"

"We have detected hull breaking noises, bearing 87 degrees south. I can't get a range estimate, but it seems to be about 2,000m or more away."

"Good work, keep me updated."

There's not much that they could do. The submarines were not allowed to help each other, for many, many reasons. The best that they could do now was to just signal the Instructors and pray help reached them in time.

* * *

Submarine _I-201_

Norita all but collapsed into his bunk. He was tired after having taken the watch for his Officer, since the man had something he needed to do. So, he had just tanked over 24 hours without sleep. It was irritating him, to find out that his chief officer had used the time to wargame with the chief torpedo officer _again_. Of course, Norita could have easily gone to the captain or deputy captain, but he chose not to. He didn't want to cause trouble for anyone.

That being said, it didn't hurt to act like he would tell, placing the Sword of Damocles over his chief's head. The boy had pleaded with Norita not to talk, so Norita had taken it as material for blackmail. Which was why the chief officer was now taking _his_ watch instead of Norita, and Norita was in his bunk.

Though he felt tired, and he knew he was tired, his mind didn't want to go to sleep. He had gotten into this school, one of the most prestigious submarine schools in Japan. It was staffed by some of the most competent people in the country, and had in possession the most revered submarines of all: The Ro-500

While he hadn't been transferred into that submarine, Norita was still happy enough that he got second best. He never did like holding grudges. It made for a very unhappy life, and he needed all the happiness that he could get.

Slapping himself lightly to chase away the bad thoughts, Norita closed his eyes, trying to get to sleep. It had only been his first day in a submarine, and he could feel the oppressing walls of the submarine closing in on him. Submarines are always cramped and confined, which was why the Instructor had rightfully likened it to a torpedo.

Right now, he let the knowledge of a deadly weight hanging over his head lull him to sleep…

.

 _Musty_ , his nose remarked. _Where are we?_

The boy had his eyes closed, the blackness hiding the outside world from view. He opened his eyes slowly, taking in the dark shadows that shrouded his view of the brown walls. The room he was in was small, barely enough space for him to curl up inside of. Under his back, something hard kept poking into him, making him uncomfortable. The boy wriggled, trying to get a more comfortable position, when outside the room, something slammed with a deafening _crack_.

A reddish black haze settled over his vision, as sounds sharpened and his sense of smell became stronger. The irritating objects poking his back became nothing more than a minor nuisance as the abject terror gripped the boy. Whatever was out there, was much worse than what he was experiencing here. A creeping sense of dread clawed its way up his spine, paralysing him. His breath came faster, his mouth drying out as he strained his eyes to find a way out.

Keeping his body as still as possible, the boy listened as footsteps crossed outside the room. Something growled, dropping a heavy carton of metal cans onto the floor. He could hear them rattling around as whoever it was tossed a bunch of keys into a table. The stomping carried on for a few more moments, before the footsteps left the area, going away.

The footsteps came back, softer and more measured as if stalking up on some prey. He could feel his breath dry up in his throat, his lungs burning as he held it all in.

With an ominous creaking, the ceiling above him opened, the monster's voice calling out to him

 _"_ _ **found you…**_ _"_

Norita screamed.

Bolting upright, he whacked his head against the upper bunk. Luckily his bunk mate wasn't there, otherwise there might have been some nasty swearing going on.

Breathing heavily, Norita tried to replay the dream he just had, jotting down all the details that he could still remember. Noting down the date and time, he gave a small sigh.

It had been going so well too.

Guess he had to restart the timer again.

* * *

Despite his best efforts, the dream had kept him awake. As such, he went to visit the corpsman for sleeping pills.

The corpsman was Kaburagi Ichiro, a very capable young man.

He was also a very (in)famous troll.

On entering the room, Norita glanced around, making sure there was no scary surgeon hiding behind the door with his scalpel. After establishing that he was not in immediate danger, Norita entered the room.

 _Where was the doctor–_

Something grabbed him from behind by the hair, causing Norita to yelp in pain. Another hand grabbed hold of his shirt, lifting it up as whoever it was pulled out a marker. They began to draw out a neat box, as Norita struggled to free himself. Next came out a scalpel, with predictable results. Norita yelled, breaking free by performing his best imitation of a judo throw, causing his opponent to lose enough of their balance for him to break free.

Screaming something incoherent, Norita backed up against the wall, panting heavily as he struggled to regain his breath. Rising before him from the floor was a young man wrapped in a white lab coat. The man rose up, swaying drunkenly from side to side, before turning to face Norita with the creepiest grin that he had ever seen.

Norita got what he wanted.

He fainted.

* * *

Coming to, he found himself still lying in the medical wing on one of the beds. The curtains were not drawn, so he could see what was going on in the room. The medical officer sat before him in a swivel chair, his round frame glasses glinting dangerously as he stared at Norita. It took Norita a few more moments before he reacted, blabbering away at the horror.

The man wore a grey and brown striped shirt, with a bunch of oversized comical stitch marks running over it in random patterns. Now on closer look, the lab coat had the same treatment, looking like it had been sliced apart and then re-stitched back together.

All he needed was a cigar in his mouth and a screw through his head to complete the image.

Norita blabbered as the person scooted closer, somehow staring down at him from his sitting position. With a thump, Norita fell off the bed, scrambling backwards to get away from him.

"…ahaha… looks like I really did get you, didn't I?" The person spoke up.

At least Norita stopped his whimpering. He was much too frightened to speak.

The person sighed, "Alright fine, sorry about that. It's just a prank bro."

 _A prank?_

Norita sort of managed to get up, lifting his shirt to check whether the marker ink was still there. It wasn't.

"But– W-wha– huh–"

"Long story short, the marker ink is perfectly washable. I got it off you while you slept. Now, what did you come here for?"

Norita got his act together. He now had an objective to complete!

"I c-came here for some sleeping pills. I've been having trouble trying to fall asleep."

"Oh? In that case, take these." The doctor moved back to his desk, opening it and pulling out a packet of pills. Tossing the pills to Norita, Norita opened the bag to see a bunch of chocolate pieces shaped like pills, with sleeping faces carved on.

He looked back at the doctor.

 **"Not funny"**

"Ok, ok. Here," the doctor tossed Norita another pack of pills. Checking the bag, he found a bunch of white pills. Glancing up distrustfully at Ichiro, Norita asked, "Are they the real pills?"

"Of course! I wouldn't dare give anyone the wrong medicines. It'll be the end of my career!"

"...Alright then, I'll trust you on this one. Thanks for your help."

Norita packed up the medicine, mking for the door. As he left the room, the doctor whispered in his ear.

 _"I swapped around your toes…"_ , pushing him out and slamming the door shut behind Norita as he did so.

Inside the room, Kaburagi Ichiro smirked as he listened to Norita screaming.

* * *

The captain returned to the bridge. He had just gone to relieve himself, temporarily giving Nishina control of the wheel. It was sort of strange that Nishina kept staring fearfully at him. Perhaps he hadn't been as friendly as he had thought…

Yonehara cleared his throat. "Hey, Nishina."

"Y-yes?"

"How has your day been?"

Immediately, Yonehara's inner critic whacked him hard over the head.

"Erm… quite… good?"

"Ah…" the conversation died off as both parties became awkward. "Oh, isn't your assistant awake now? Why not have him come over and relieve you? We could have a round of Wargaming for a while or so."

The Navigation officer freezed up for a moment, struggling to find a way to tell his captain that no, Norita was asleep at the moment, and that it was his fault for making Norita stay up through his allotted sleep time, but the words refused to come out of his mouth.

"Um… Uh…"

Yonehara just smiled., "It's ok. As commanding officers, we need to know how to best exploit your subordinates to get the best use out of them. We can call Norita up now and have him relieve you. I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

 _But he_ _will_ _!_

Going to the bridge telephone, the captain picked up the mouth piece and spoke into the system, _"Captain speaking. Hashimoto Norita, please report to the bridge"_

"There, all done."

Behind him, Nishina was shaking like a leaf in the wind.

* * *

Norita was awakened by the PA buzzing in his ear, about him reporting to the bridge.

 _Verdammt!_

A quick glance at his watch told him that barely an hour had passed since he had fallen asleep. Quickly donning his boots, he made his way towards the bridge. Along the way, the submarine suddenly made a course correction, a minor shift in its direction but a shift that he could feel.

He paused in his movement.

Where were they now?

Reaching the bridge, he found his chief officer looking sheepish at the wheel, while the captain stood there, a smile on his face.

"Hashimoto, I am aware that this is your break time now, but could you do us a favour and take the wheel?"

Norita stood there ramrod straight, looking at the captain. He then slowly turned his head to look at Nishina, his death glare burning into Nishina's eyes as the boy looked guiltily back at him.

 _Not much of a choice, is there?_

"Alright, captain." Moving over, Norita went to the wheel, taking over his chief officer as he gripped the wooden spokes. Already, he was back to plotting the path of the submarine. Going by the human GPS of both him and Nishina, Norita estimated that they had only covered less than half the journey to the mission point. Still, the shifting in direction was not something that he should have felt. They were going to travel in a straight line for purpose of speed, and as such, changes in direction were not supposed to happen.

 _There, again!_

His eyes widen as he felt the shift, releasing one hand on the wheel to flip the transparency of water currents onto the map.

"Captain, we have a problem."

The captain came over from where he stood doing something at the table. "Yes?"

"Captain, we are drifting off course."

The submarine was stopped, dead in the water as the GPS system fired up. It made for poor form if a submarine were to be caught using GPS, but the captain had deemed it necessary. The GPS plot showed them located roughly 80 nautical miles off course, and it was going to delay their journey by a few hours. With the appropriate course correction made, the journey was going to be even longer. Fuel was not going to be waiting for them at the mission point. They had to conserve the fuel for as long as possible.

The radio operator sent a package to Head Quarters, informing them that they would be late. To safeguard against the ever patrolling ASW assets, the submarine dived to travel onwards underwater over the course of the next few hours.

* * *

Submarine _Kuroshio_ (sunk)

The survivors of the sunken submarine were picked up by the Instructors of Toumai Boy's Marine High School. The captain recounted to the Instructor present what happened, as well as the casualty list. The majority of injuries were hypothermia from the cold waters of the ocean, mostly from the boys trapped in the forward torpedo room. They had to remove their safety devices, the safety cocoon that protected them from the cold waters in order to access the escape hatch.

Most of the teaching staff had protested against the use of such a device. A ship could use such things because they were expected to run on the surface. This meant that the crew need not worry about water pressure crushing their cocoons flat or needing to wriggle out of an escape hatch, since ships did not need such things. In fact, the use of such safety devices were restricted to off-ship travels when a crew member had to travel away from the ship, usually on a skipper or other similar vehicles.

In a submarine, having such devices prevented the use of the escape hatch, and while the cocoon can protect from water pressure, at around 50 metres of water the cocoons tend to fail. The system was horribly mismatched to the ship class, and the crew had paid dearly for it.

* * *

Submarine _I-201_

"Conn, Sonar."

"Conn aye, Captain speaking. What is it?"

"We have detected screws on a bearing of zero-five-zero. Very faint noise, possibly quite far out."

"Alright, keep me updated. Good work guys." The speakers clicked off while the captain started consulting Nishina. Already the rest of the bridge crew were coming back up after their break periods to stand watch. That was fine.

The submarine cruised on above the surface, the bow mounted hydrophones keeping track of the other vessel in the area. Who knew what it was?

Kouda came up with the idea that they were their scheduled submarine combatants, but the Navigators vetoed that since they were still outside the agreed engagement area. The next three hours were spent frantically trying to determine what the new contact was.

Eventually, Sonar was able to determine what the object was.

"Conn, sonar. Target bearing zero-five-three is identified as twin screws, going at an estimated 13 to 15 knots. Estimated distance to target is twenty nautical miles."

"Roger that, thank you for your hard work guys." Hanging up the receiver, the captain turned to his men as Norita plotted out the target's position on the charts. Nishina was back at the wheel, holding the submarine on its planned course as they continued travelling. The assistant navigator plotted out the target's current position, before using his ruler to draw a line through the contact points.

It was amazingly a straight line.

He looked up to see the other officers who were watching him work his magic. "Well, they are definitely running a straight line. It probably means they are travelling like us as well, though we might get an intersection within the next twenty nautical miles or so."

"Captain, what do we do?"

Yonehara thought it over a bit further, before coming to a conclusion. "We will proceed as planned. Keep tracking its course and alert me when we start getting within a hundred meters before torpedo range."

"Yes sir."

With the matter decided for now, Yonehara gave his deputy Officer of the Deck, while he went off for a very quick bite and coffee. Lots of coffee.

* * *

The target was moving. Given the distances, any changes in the target's positioning would have been more difficult to sense. It was like watching fireworks from far away. The actuall fireworks happened a far distance off, but you only hear the fireworks an amount of time later. This is why any plotting done by sound has to be taken with a pinch of salt. You could never know whether the target had changed positioning in the last moments you heard from him.

In the I-201, sonar reached a problem.

"Conn, Sonar. This is Chief Sonar Operator Tanabe Sato speaking. We have suddenly lost contact with the target. Target has gone silent as of 1807 GMT."

"Thank you." The deputy captain activated the submarine's PA, calling the captain back to the bridge.

The captain returned, looking all energised and ready for what was to come. "What happened?"

As the deputy captain filled in the captain, Norita was still studying the charts. _"Why are they going silent now?"_

The captain had the submarine proceed onwards to its destination, which was a mere twenty nautical miles away. The exercise was to happen at sector G4, 25 nautical miles off the coast of Ogasawara Island. The sector was marked out as a fifty by fifty nautical mile box. Here, they would be in a cage match with the submarine. Whoever defeated the other would get to advance to the next segment of the training missions. The ones who failed were to be repaired, and reassigned to another similar one-on-one engagement.

I-201 had the advantage underwater, where they could actually move at a very decent speed. The enemy submarine was another Japanese submarine, and while they did not know who it was, it was most certainly not another I-201 class submarine. Of the I-200 class, only up to I-204 was built. The class's sister subs were set aside for the military's R&D, leaving them with 5 boats of an obsolete class. Of the hundreds of submarines the various schools owned, running into another one of the five was simply impossible.

As the I-201 neared its destination, the submarine dived as it started on its first engagement of the term.

Nishina however, knew something was wrong. The sudden silence of the target so close to the engagement area... The rest of the bridge crew tried to hide it, but they knew that there was something they were not seeing. The target had not been close enough for them to do a sound analysis. All they got was that the target was a twin screwed vessel, possibly a submarine, probably not. If they were getting so close, then where were they now? The maps showed that sonar would have been able to start sound analysis within a few more metres should the submarine had not gone silent, when their paths got close enough for the hydrophones to more accurately pick up the target's acoustic signature.

Something got Nishina's attention. He ran his mind over the sub's diagrams. There was a very big design flaw, a very fatal weakness that could kill the submarine. As the other officers busied themselves discussing the situation, Nishina went to the telephone to make a call.

"Sonar, conn. Request to speak with Chief Sonar Operator."

"Conn aye. Request granted. Chief Sonar Operator speaking."

"Does the submarine have a blind spot in its sonar coverage?"

"…who are you and what the hell are you talking about?"

Nishina glanced over at the officers still milling around the table. They were studying the charts, Sakamoto using his pieces to try and demonstrate a point.

"This is Chief Navigation Officer Nishina Kawabe. Could you come up? I need your help to explain something to the bridge crew."

"… be there in five."

Hanging up, Nishina got to work. He squeezed around the table, towards the entrance hatch that Tanabe would use. When the boy arrived, Nishina made a quick note of his appearance.

He had messy brown hair, bloodshot eyes and a pair of dirty glasses that kept dropping down his nose. His face had a particularly nasty scowl that indicated his lack of sleep. Nishina did _not_ want to be one of his sonar operators, going by the dirty looks Tanabe was throwing at him.

"What is it?"

"Well you see…" as Nishina began outlining his plan, the Chief Sonar Operator eyebrows began to rise.

* * *

The submarine continued onwards, ploughing through the water at a glacial three knots. As it swam, the submarine's sonar operators strained their ears to the limit, struggling to detect any sounds in the ocean. All they managed to get was the usual ocean ambience that provided an annoying backdrop to the soundscape.

 _"All hands, rig for silent drill"_

Everyone on board the ship stopped whatever they were doing, staying utterly still as the ship began its planned manoeuvre. Conversations stopped and many breaths were held as the I-201 began. In the bridge, Norita turned the wheel, bringing the rudder to 15 degrees right. The sonar technicians now strained themselves further, struggling to hear anything on the bow mounted sonar array while they turned.

The officers in the bridge prayed hard, hoping that the Chief Sonar Operator's worries were unfounded. Meanwhile, the diving fins were tilted at 5 degrees upwards, sending the submarine slowly turning and drifting upwards like a graceful whale.

The officers' hopes were dashed when suddenly Tanabe sent the bridge a message.

Submarine detected on bearing 116

* * *

The bridge sprang into action. The order went out for a snap shot on the target, which Sakamoto struggled to comply with as his men rushed to get the torpedoes into place.

"Hurry up and fire!"

"The torpedoes aren't ready yet!"

Meanwhile, the submarine that was detected started its own turn, turning towards the I-201. Sonar pulses rocked the boat as the boys stared in fear at the hulls of the submarine. The sound waves were so strong that they could feel the vibrations through the hull.

"Crap, they just pinged us!"

"Torpedo tubes flooded, outer doors open, ready to fire!"

Match bearings and shoot!"

The submarine shuddered as a spread of four torpedoes shot out of their tubes, before beginning a crash dive. The enemy submarine began its own crash dive, dodging the torpedoes fired at it as they just flew overhead.

Sonar aboard the I-201 went nuts.

"Transients, transients! Torpedo in the water!"

"Torpedoes bearing 343! Two torpedoes!"

Yonehara shouted out new orders, "Engines full speed ahead! Rudder straight ahead! Fifteen degree rise on diving planes!"

Norita complied with the orders, bringing his rudder in as the diving fin operator adjusted his fins. The submarine began climbing, the hull straining against the sudden changes to its movement, along with hull popping noises as the submarine rapidly changed depths. The officers gripped white-knuckled on the edge of the table, teeth clenched as the torpedo danger came closer and closer... before passing, the fish swimming underneath the rising I-201.

"Engines full ahead, rudder straight ahead, 15 degree rise on diving fins sir." Norita did a good job hiding the stress and tension in his voice. They had just come _so_ close to being hit by a torpedo and being knocked out instantly.

"Good. Level us out and slow to three knots." Norita did so, watching the bubble in the level slowly creep towards the double lines… before overshooting… and coming back… and overshooting again…

While Norita chased the bubble, Sakamoto had the torpedo tubes readied, with another load of torpedoes sitting inside and waiting. Tanabe was back at his post, rotating out his sonar officers to keep them fresh, while in the engine room the Engineers swore as they watched the ammeter and thermometers attached to the massive motors turning the ships screws rise. Even as they did so, the order came for the boat to slow down to three knots. Heaving a collective sigh, the crew watched the two instruments drop back into more comfortable ranges.

Again, Norita started the turn, this time angling the submarine slightly downwards as he turned the boat. The fire control party were prepared for this, ready to make the snap shot once the opportunity came.

Sonar found the enemy submarine, still cruising below them as it tried to either circle or run away. No one really knew what they were doing, except that the hunter was now the hunted. Directions were given, and the torpedoes were readied. Sakamoto grabbed a pen and paper, and made his frantic calculations on them. Moments before firing, he updated the launch instructions in fire control room. The torpedo tubes were flooded, the rushing noise of water alerting the enemy submarine to the I-201's incoming attack. As it tried to pick up speed, I-201 fired the first torpedo. It went through the water, propeller giving off cavitation noise as it spun through the water, accelerating the torpedo to its programmed speed of 50 knots.

The enemy submarine guessed the torpedo's path correctly, diving deeper to escape the torpedo, along with the second torpedo streaking being fired. This forced the submarine to go ever deeper and deeper. As the submarine approached its crush depth, the I-201 unleashed another salvo of torpedoes, confident that there was no escape left for their enemy. The remaining two readied torpedoes fired from the tubes with a blast of pressurised air. They swam through the water, towards the trapped submarine. Unable to dive deeper, and with the laws of inertia preventing them from doing anything more to change their position to save themselves, the submarine's captain could only pray.

The submarine did something more or less unexpected. It's screws started spinning backwards, even as the submarine swung hard left, towards the first incoming torpedo. The torpedo overshot the submarine, just barely missing the upper section of the bow. The second torpedo likewise barely missed the submarine's sail by the closest of metres. The enemy submarine had just sacrificed the majority of it momentum to avoid that shot, bringing the torpedo battle down to just the I-201's two remaining torpedoes.

Sakamoto was unfazed. His next set of fire control solutions were completed, and fed into the machine. Tubes were reloaded and opened, but the order to fire never came. The torpedo in Tube One misfired, starting up while still inside the tube. The torpedo was jettisoned, swimming away into the ocean as the outer doors closed. They were down to one torpedo.

Already, the enemy submarine was beginning to fire up their screws, slowly but surely accelerating forwards. Sakamoto, keeping his cool with his handy calculator by his side, readied the fire controls for the last torpedo. "Hurry up!" someone told him, but he didn't care. Sakamoto let himself be lost in the numbers, frantically working at them to force some meaning out of them. He was restricted to just one torpedo. It absolutely needed to hit, otherwise they would be at a very major disadvantage.

He fired the torpedo.

The enemy submarine was still struggling to move underwater. Clearly, this was not one of the _Sentaka Dai_ Type submarines, of which only three were still in operation at the moment. The sonar operators had managed in all the confusion to identify the submarine as a B3 Type Cruiser Submarine, but anything more was far too difficult for them to manage. It was not meant for underwater actions. Against the I-201, it was severely mismatched and out of its league.

The sonar operators winced as the blast of an underwater explosion reached their ears. Those that managed to take off their headphones to avoid the noise, caught the next sounds the submarine made.

"Blowing noises sir! They're rising!"

* * *

The I-201 surfaced as well, surveying the damage they had caused. The enemy submarine had a decent dent in the hull, from where the torpedo had hit it forward of the sail. What surprised them was the submarine.

"It's the I-58!" shouted the lookout, more for the benefit of the Captain next to him, as well as the rest of the crew still inside the submarine. As the sonar operators had determined, the I-58 submarine was a Type B3 Cruiser Submarine. Intended for extended deployments, she was a rather fine sight to behold. With a length of 108.7 metres, a displacement of 2140 tonnes and top speeds of 17.7 knots surfaced, 6.5 knots submerged, this submarine was sadly never a match for the I-201. Its limited mobility underwater was a death sentence for the submarine, and the I-58's decision to submerge after the I-201 was the final nail in the coffin.

When Yonehara went aboard the I-201 to exchange words with the I-58's captain, they revealed that they already had a lock on the I-201, but did not fire because they weren't yet in the engagement area. It had just so happened they entered the area when Norita made his crazy move that revealed the submarine hiding in their baffles. It was because of this did the captain specifically praise both his Navigation officers as well as his Chief Sonar Operator for their thinking on returning to the submarine, much to their collective embarrassment.

Having collected the next set of mission orders, the submarine descended, making for Ogasawara island. The crew needed a break, and they had most certainly deserved it.

* * *

Mission Log

Time: 2300 GMT  
Details: Submarine I-201 has engaged with and defeated submarine I-58, thereby completing the first set of mission orders. The submarine will first make for harbour at Ogasawara Island, before proceeding on to completing its second set of mission orders. The captain has yet to open the mission orders, as such further details are unknown as of now.

Personal Observations: The submarine crew were very well disciplined during their first live-fire mission today. There are a few outstanding officers, namely the two navigation Officers and the Chief Sonar Operator. They worked together to detect the I-58 hiding in the I-201's baffles, thereby carrying the I-201's crew to today's victory. Of special mention is the Chief Torpedo Officer, who managed to make an underwater torpedo hit on the I-58 with non-homing torpedoes. He has proved his competency today in his first live fire mission, and more amazing things are expected of him in the missions to come.

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

Hi guys, welcome back to another chapter of Contact! How has the week been treating you guys?

Just to clarify a few things for the readers without accounts, I update every Wednesday, so you can expect the story to be updated then. I will be keeping to this schedule for as long as I can, and if there are any changes/delays/hiatus I **will** inform you guys beforehand. I'm not going to abandon this story like how I sadly abandoned the others. I made that mistake before, I'm not doing that again.


	6. Chapter 4

"Gah!"

The startled cry echoed off the submarine's rubber-coated hull as the secretary Kouda Kinzo was shoved off the top deck of the I-201. Screaming all the way down, he hit the ocean with a splash, struggling to claw his way out of the freezing waters of the Pacific. The other officers laughed at his misfortune, before the captain appeared.

Clad in all his shirtless, swimming trunk glory, the captain proceeded to dive gracefully into the ocean. On surfacing, he gave a thumbs up to his men.

"OI! YOU BUNCH OF COWADS! THE WATER'S LOVELY THIS TIME OF THE YEAR! GET IN!" Yonehara bellowed, his voice reaching the officers loud and clear. As well as the sailors still inside of the submarine that were just so happening to be walking along that side of the hull. As the officers started to strip and jump into the water, all the Deputy could do was sigh as he supervised Norita at the helm. With the awkward silence in the bridge, Norita decided he should try to break the tension in the room.

"You know, Nakamura-san, I really don't envy Nishina-san right now." Even as he spoke, Norita could still sort-of hear his Chief screaming as the cold and salty sea water found its way into his mouth. The submarine I-201 was en-route for Ogasawara Island to make repairs and to resupply. The battle with the I-58 had left them with a damaged torpedo tube, possible hull damage from the sudden stresses of rapid ascent and descent, and absolutely no torpedoes.

In order to take down the submarine, all ten of their torpedoes were used, but only one connected. A very inefficient ratio, to be sure, but what choice did they have? The only underwater weapon their submarine has is its non-homing, practise torpedoes. Practise torpedoes are torpedoes equipped with a weaker warhead, as well as a special vent system that directs the blast of hot gases away from the point of impact. The force from the torpedo explosion would be weaker and less destructive. Of course, all submarines need to surface after any torpedo hit to ensure crew safety. Underwater, any torpedo hit is a fatal torpedo hit. It is the captain's job to ensure that no one gets hurt, and therefore the submarine would surface, both to surrender and to evacuate crew.

That's why right now, the Deputy was all for making for Ogasawara at full speed. They needed a new load of torpedoes, otherwise the submarine would be a lion without claws. Dangerous but unarmed. The captain however had vetoed that idea, deciding that he wanted to reward the crew by letting them take a break outside the submarine. Most did so by swimming while the rest stayed in the submarine to make repairs or to keep the submarine running. It was currently moving on the surface at a glacial speed of 3 knots.

Sadly, they could not afford to have everyone get out of the submarine, as they needed to have some people manning the various stations within the submarine to keep it running. While there was the idea of having the crew rotate around by section, it was decided to go the "half-half" method. The first half of the crew would go and have fun in the water while the second half ran the sub. After about half an hour, they would switch around for another half an hour, before making full speed for the island.

This was the best Nakamura was able to negotiate out of the captain. It could be a challenge working with him at times, since Nakamura _still_ had no idea what sort of thought processes the guy had. Yonehara was rather unpredictable and eccentric in his opinion.

Breaking out of his internal monologue, Nakamura returned to Norita's statement. "Why would you say that?"

The Assistant Navigator replied without hesitation, "He's swimming with the captain."

There was silence as the words sank in, before Nakamura blanched at the thought. "Oh gods… yeah, I can see why you'd feel sad for him."

"Even though, I still feel the captain's a nice person. While strange at times, he really does have the best interests of his men at heart. Like now, for instance." Norita turned to look at the deputy. "He's letting the crew have a break, knowing that no matter what, most of us are still unaccustomed to living in a submarine. He is keeping the crew well rested and happy, or at least not tired and grumpy from being cooped up for too long."

Nakamura could see the logic in this. He too was starting to feel tired of seeing the dull grey of his bunk every time he woke up, of seeing the same old bridge every time he reported in for work. But still… "It's taking too long. I'd rather spend my time doing something useful instead of just waiting around for them to finish."

The bridge quieted down again as both boys stopped talking, one focused on piloting his boat, the other too distracted by the scale model ship he was building. Eventually Norita's curiosity got the better of him.

"What's that ship you've been building?" he asked.

Before he answered, Nakamura carefully placed on another matchstick with the head trimmed off, gluing it into place. "It's the _Yamato_ , on a 1:350 scale."

"Oh. Then why are you building it?"

Nakamura nearly squeezed too hard on his bottle of superglue, almost gluing the next matchstick to his hand. "That's because… it's a hobby. I like doing this sort of stuff. In fact, I've got a bunch of other ships back home, like the _Nagato_ and the _Fubuki_. Would you like to see them some time?"

If not for the need for concentration, Nakamura would have hit himself for throwing that offer out there so freely, but he needed to show off once in a while, and while Mayumi was nice enough to indulge him, want he wanted was another ship enthusiast.

"Well, I'd love to! I've got a few scale models of my own as well. I have the Project 627A submarines, the _Gato_ -class submarines and the Ro-34. Perhaps you'll like to take a look at these as well?" Nakamura froze at these words, accidentally squeezing glue all over the matchstick he was trying to stick on. Cursing and swearing, he threw away the matchstick as he cleaned his hand with a small mixture of turpentine and water.

"Y-you do scale modelling as well?"

"Well yeah, cost me a lot of my pocket money back then but I still feel it was totally worth it."

Nakamura was stumped. And all this time, he had believed that he was the only one on the I-201 who knew what scale modelling was! "W-well… I guess I'll take you up on that offer then."

"Sure! When would you like to come over?"

Nakamura thought it over. "I have something going on the day we return, so… three days after we return to Toumai?"

"Okay. I'll give you my contact number, then we can just coordinate when the day comes."

As Norita dictated his handphone number to Nakamura, Yahachi who had to pass through the bridge to enter the submarine smiled as he went down the hatch. It seems the Deputy wasn't as scary as he always liked to appear to be.

* * *

 _Atago_ -class destroyer, _Mirai_

The crew were huddled up inside of the _Mirai_ , an _Atago_ -class Destroyer. Wrapped in thermal blankets, they stayed silent and scared on the Instructor ship. Inside, the ship's captain was trying to ping for the location of the submarine, but they still had no luck. Arrangements were being made for the _Chiyoda_ to come out from Kure Naval Base, but the journey would take several days to reach, far too long for any survivors to make it.

They all knew their friends were doomed. A few of the boys huddling together had to hold each other, others just sat there with silent tears running down their faces. The air was filled with mourning and grief, as the Instructors found themselves affected by the scene of withheld-emotion, of friends being strong for each other.

One boy in particular was not crying. He sat there with another boy wrapped in his arms as he cried, but this boy betrayed no outward emotion. However, inside his mind, he was drowning.

He could still see it, see his friend drowning, clutching at him as he went down, still screaming. His face twisted in abject terror – _I don't want to die_ – gazing at him with those haunting eyes. _Your fault_.

"I'm… sorry…" he whispered to no one in particular, but the apparition refused to leave. They were stuck in the water, the submarine beneath them. Above him, the sunlight shone down through the waters, beckoning him to leave him, to leave his friend Masayuki. He could feel his lungs bursting as he kept trying to pull his friend out, but his friend just couldn't move. Water streaming into his mouth, air bubbles flying into his face as Masayuki kept trying to pull himself out, but it was no use. The water was still pressing on him, harder and harder, like he was in a rubber glove and sinking through the waves.

He couldn't breathe, couldn't see, couldn't touch, couldn't feel, all he could do was listen to the choked sounds of his own screams. He was dimly aware of someone pinning him down, of something pricking his left forearm, but he didn't care. He was _drowning_ – darkness over took him, a ringing sound in his ears that slowly faded away into nothingness.

* * *

Submarine _I-201_

Engines running at one quarter capacity, the submarine was still plodding along, while its crew enjoyed themselves outside its confined space. With his scale model safely squirreled away in his quarters, Nakamura had taken to the water, deciding that if he was stuck in this situation, he might as well make the most of it.

That's why he found himself enjoying his time in the sea, swimming laps around the submarine while splashing water at the other crew. Tanabe was with them as well, and it seems the normally grumpy, overworked Chief Sonar Operator has a different side to him as well. He kept challenging others to dive with him, and the loser would buy the winner a drink once they reached land. He kept winning round after round, until a new heavy weight challenger entered the ring.

To everyone's surprise, Kaburagi Ichiro joined the fray as well, cannonballing into the midst of the crowd with a loud " _YAHOO!_ ". With the challenge accepted, everyone submerged to watch the two contestants. Even the sonar crew, who had been listening in on the competitions, passively tracking the divers, got excited over the challenge. It was their Chief, of course they supported him. The thing is, Kaburagi was a very infamous troll. If anything unexpected was to happen, it would be coming from him.

They were right. Sort of.

The contestants dived, with Tanabe gaining a very significant lead. Smirking underwater, he held his eyes closed as he listened for Kaburagi. The boy was still above him, trying to go deeper and reach him, but Tanabe knew he was already out of his reach. Having had experience in deep sea diving, he knew what to do to dive deep and stay submerged. What he did not expect, was to have something rush past him. Immediately he snapped alert. Something else was down here, he could almost _feel_ it.

 _Why didn't I hear it?_

Keeping his eyes open, he listened and looked for the object, ignoring the burning sensation of saltwater on the eyes. Something bumped into him from behind, and Tanabe lashed out to grab hold of it. It was… warm, and rubbery.

With a half strangled scream, he burst out of the water. Moments later a pod of dolphins came jumping out of the water as well. Norita himself had a dolphin jump over him, splashing him with its tail as it landed. He laughed as his new buddy swam a circle around him, butting his side lightly with its snout before leaving. Norita felt lighter, like he was drifting away on clouds.

A sudden splash of water jolted him back as the Deputy cleared another lap, splashing Norita in greeting. The boy almost immediately blushed when he realised what he had done, but Norita was too occupied spitting out the salty seawater to take notice.

"Gah! That's salty as shit!"

"Haha–" Nakamura was cut off as something grabbed his ankle from below, causing him to nearly leap clear out of the water. Norita watched him scramble up the side of the submarine in his full blown panic, before turning to see Kaburagi surfacing like a _Ka-class_ submarine. It took some willpower for him to not freak out, instead giving the guy a firm kick to the face that sent him reeling back through the water.

* * *

Having cleaned himself up from swimming in the ocean, Norita wandered around the submarine to kill time. It was supposed to be his break time now until 6pm, when he went to sleep. Instead of taking the extra time to rest up in the bunks, he went down to the engine room, to check in on his friend as well as to just find someone to talk to. The submarine was finally underway at long last, much to the relief of Nakamura. Right now, Nishina held the conn, leaving Norita free to move around.

Inside the engine room, it was hot and stuffy, with the massive engines generating heat as the I-201 chugged along at a decent 14 knots. With this pace, they were expected to make landfall by night time. Here, the engineers kept moving back and forth, watching the engines as well as making minor repairs to the electric motors. When Norita asked, he found out that the bursts of speed that the bridge kept asking of the motors meant that they were more liable to start breaking down. Already a few parts were damaged either from the high currents flowing through them, or by _melting_ from the operating heat.

Yahachi was busy cleaning out the motors in question. Having burnt himself multiple times during his work, he had taken to wearing a thermal suit intended for high operating temperatures. While it helped stop him from burning himself on the hot metal, the suit itself still traps heat, making it really uncomfortable. Norita contended himself with just sitting on the floor, wiping off some… thing that Yahachi had given him while the boy worked. The two buddies worked together, one busy wiping a piece of equipment he himself didn't know was for what, the other busy tinkering with the motors.

Yahachi wriggled out of the crawl space, putting aside his work tools. Norita could barely see through his friend's faceplate to see his tired and sweaty face. "Ok, pass it to me."

Norita handed over the thing, which Yahachi then went back to attaching it into the motor. As he did this work, he started talking.

"I guess you were wondering what this is for?" He asked.

"Well yeah, I don't know most of the stuff here that you're working with." Norita replied.

"For starters, what you just passed to me is a little device called a thermistor. I'm replacing the ones that were burnt out from the heat overloads, when you idiots started pushing the motors," said the Second Engineering Officer, as he worked in the crawl space.

"We use these things to measure both how hot the motors are, as well as a safety measure should the things start overheating. For some reason many of the electrical systems were fried during the burst, but they returned back to normal before anything could happen. It was like the whole system blinked, on/off really fast before going back to normal. Weird right?"

"I guess… Was it a battery fault?" Norita asked.

"Still no idea yet. The First Engineer is checking that one out now. They just left me here to replace all the damaged parts."

"Hmm… so what have you been doing? Been able to work on your designs?"

"Ah, so glad you asked. I managed to get the Chief Engineer to take a look, and he didn't straight away flip it off. He actually thought it would work, if not for the power source. Where do you find a power source that is light enough for the thing to carry while being strong enough to actually be useful?"

"How would I know?!"

"Exactly – ow!" Norita nearly jumped at his friend's pained shout.

"What is it?"

"… I hit my head. Ow."

"…"

"I can feel you're smiling. Stop smiling."

* * *

An hour earlier...

Back in the sonar room, Chief Sonar Officer Tanabe Sato was listening intently on his headphones. The dolphin noise from earlier had been recorded by the hydrophone's built-in recording device. His assistant had been listening in while he was off the sub, and he thought he had heard something strange.

Tanabe now sat alone in the sonar room, listening to the mp3 file while his sonar technicians played outside the sub. The waterfall displays still showed them outside, making loud noises that showed up as long streaks of colourful lights on the screen. Half distracted by the monitor, Tanabe pressed his headphones harder and harder against his ears, straining to find that sweet spot.

It was a moment before he exited the waterfall display, going to the sound editor files to remove the sounds of higher frequency, the dolphin chatter and the noise from the swimmers. Having done so, he kept amplifying the lower frequency noises, all the while increasing the volume control until it was at its max. Suddenly, his fingers stopped moving on the dials, instead pressing once more on both sides of his headphones.

There was a pregnant pause in the sonar room, only marred by the sudden clack as Tanabe threw his headphones off his head, grabbing a freshly edited copy of the mp3 file ejected from the computer. A swivel chair slowly spinning to a stop was the only sign that he had ever been in the room.

The captain's face was noticeably whiter after having heard Tanabe's report.

"Breaking… noises?"

"Yes captain. The warmer waters above the thermocline allowed us to pick up the sounds. How far away, I'm not sure, since sound is able to travel really long distances through such warmer layers of water. This is definitely the breaking noises of a submarine. This means there may or may not be a national broadcast of an incident over the next few days."

"Thank you for your efforts, Tanabe. You're dismissed."

"Thank you, sir."

With Tanabe gone, Yonehara was able to collect him thoughts over the piece of news. His officers were gone, interacting with their crew or getting some off time. Right now, he was all alone in the bridge, hunched over the mission table with a mug of coffee in his hand.

Downing the mug, he slammed it down again on the table. Studying his reflection in the bottom of the mug, he could barely make out his face, haggard and tired against the remaining dregs of coffee powder residue. Prodding his head, Yonehara noted the thinning of his hair along the forehead. A few sparse strands of black hair poked out from under his hat, a contrast to when he had first donned the hat in front of his cheering family.

He heaved a sigh, lowering the mug again. Really, the stresses of the job were slowly starting to get to him. There were so many things, so much he needed to hide from his crew, from his family.

* * *

Submarine Rescue Ship _Chiyoda_

Spotlights shone over the surface of the water, glaring harshly back at the men as they milled around the deck. The rescue operation was still ongoing through the night. Another Instructor ship had arrived, making it three ships present in the area. The two Instructor ships kept searching the area, pinging the seabed for the downed submarine. The DSRV _Angler Fish_ was submerged as well, diving down to aid the search. Several remote operated DSVs were underwater as well, though much further away to cover more ground.

It was on one of these DSVs that they spotted something. Immediately its Instructor ship came over, pinging the location the DSV had pinpointed. The other ships soon received the message: _Downed submarine detected, confirmed to be TBMH_ Kuroshio _. One dead body detected 6km away at bearing 224._

 _Chiyoda_ came over, the reloaded _Angler Fish_ being submerged once more, even as the blimp launched by the Instructor ship went down to pick up the dead child's body. It was bloated from being submerged in the water for so long, the spine broken and flesh nibbled by scavenging fish. Still, it was a dead child, and his dog tags confirmed it.

The Instructor picked up his phone to the radio room.

"Send a message to Head Quarters. Tell them we have found one of the three missing students. We have found student T-tanabe Masayuki, of the TBMH _Kuroshio_."

As the Instructor ship sailed back towards Toumai, the crew of the _Kuroshio_ were being kept under strict surveillance. One student had gone mad, trying to jump off the ship in his frenzy. The others were now held up in the brig, placed under guard while the Instructors brought the ship back to shore.

Inside his prison cell, one of the boys looked up out of the porthole. He watched the moon for a while, before returning to his task. With no one but the guard outside the door in range, he was free to do whatever he wanted in the room. Checking that no one was watching, he stood up, opening the porthole. Without any more hesitation, he chucked the item overboard, before being wrestled to the ground by the guard bursting into the room.

He felt a mild ticklish sensation of a taser fired at him, vaguely registering the ringing in his own ears as caused by his screaming. There was a moment of dim satisfaction at being able to still stare at the moon from his position on the floor. All the while, he was laughing away inside his head.

Word was going to get out.

 _They were going to get what they deserved._

* * *

 **Author's notes**

Well, this chapter is shorter than before. Mainly because there's not much action in this chapter, as well as this being meant to be a world/character building chapter, with liberal sprinkling of foreshadowing here and there.

To those that are curious, Tanabe Sato, the Chief Torpedo Officer is able to hear the breaking up of the submarine _Kuroshio_ because of something called the Deep Sound Channel. Its a layer of water at around 1000m of depth from the surface where sound is able to carry over absurdly long distances. In certain locations, the channel can reach higher, even near the surface. It was in this channel that Tanabe was able to listen into, and heard the sinking submarine.

For the folks who have made it this far and are actually interested in this story, I would like to thank you guys so much for sticking with me. Again, the next update is next Wednesday.

If you liked the story, please drop a review to let me know. If you don't like the story, please drop a review as well to point out the parts you are not satisfied with.

As a last note, make a guess as to what the "word" the _Kuroshio_ 's crew man was refering to. The ones who get it right will receive a cookie :)


	7. Chapter 5

Seagulls called overhead as they flew past the crew. One crew member looked up to receive a nasty _splat_ to the face. Beside him, his friends started laughing at his misfortune, to which the irate sailor proceeded to wipe the white gunk on his friend's shirt. While the two sailors wrested each other on the deck of the I-201, the lookout raised his spyglass to his eye.

"Land ho!"

The cry was repeated through the sub's intercom, bringing with it sweet relief to the exhausted crew. A slight navigational error had taken them off course, and delayed their journey by an extra eight hours. Now, in just a few more miles, they would be back on solid ground. The lookout was joined by the captain upon his announcement.

"Excuse me, lookout. What's your name?"

"I'm Watanabe Ichiro, captain."

"I see. My name's Yonehara Daigo. It has been a pleasure sailing with you."

The two boys stayed there atop the sail, enjoying the view of the sun rising from the waves.

* * *

A little tugboat came out from the harbour to fetch them. The tugboat stayed with the submarine, providing little course corrections for them by nudging the ship. Yonehara called it _controlled ramming_. As the submarine eased its way into the harbour, Yonehara let a sense of security wash over him. Finally, they were safe, back in friendly waters.

All of a sudden, the submarine jerked as it slowed down considerably. The I-201 began turning to port, turning half a circle before the sub finally ground to a halt. The captain dashed back down to the bridge. His deputy had been asleep in his berth, undoubtedly awake now by the sudden jolt. Yonehara grabbed hold of the telephone and contacted the engine room.

"Engine room, Conn. What's happened?"

"Oh nothing much, just a f***ing breakdown I tell you what! We just lost Motors 1 and 2, as well as an overheating Engine 1 that's not cooling down–"

The person was audibly yanked off the phone, replaced by another person. "Excuse us Captain. The Chief Engineer has been having a bad day."

"And who is this speaking?"

"I am Second Engineer Kashima Yahachi. The First Engineer is currently leading the firefighting efforts–" The captain could hear the Chief Engineer screaming more profanities as more firehoses opened up in the background.

"And Engine 1 has just burst into flames… and I gottogonowtalktoyoulater!"

With that, the line was clicked off, Yahachi slamming the phone back down on the receiver. The captain looked at the phone dead in his hands, deep in thought. He was brought back by the Assistant Navigator Norita tapping on his shoulder.

"Excuse me captain, but the lookout is calling for you."

"Right." Replacing the phone, the captain stuck his head in the hatch that sealed off the sail. Shouting ahead of him, he called, "Watanabe, signal the tug that we have engine troubles! Request from them a tow into harbour."

A distant "hai" drifted back down as the captain closed the hatch behind him. He had just enough time to suck in a deep breath, slowly releasing it as the Deputy raced into the bridge. His uniform was sloppily worn. The shirt was all crumpled, with the collar askew. One of the buttons was in the wrong slot, and his pants were stained with what looked like… a bottle of glue.

Yup, there was a bottle of PVC white glue stuck to the side of his pants leg.

"Kanchou, what happened?!"

"The engine room reports a sudden breakdown in the port engines. The diesel is on fire and so far there has been one burn casualty from the firefighting efforts going on." Kouda replied for the captain, startling both Yonehara and Nakamura. He had been so quiet in moving in and out of the room that neither of them had spotted him. "I've just been there. The engineering team is fighting the fire for now, but it seems to be going back under control."

"Um captain, you do know the fuel stores are here on the same deck as us right?" Norita asked. "If it blows, the entire ammo store will blow. Which means this entire sub is a death trap right now. Should we be worried?"

His concerns were punctuated by the telephone ringing. The deputy answered it for the bridge crew. Sakamoto was in his torpedo room inspecting the damaged tube. Nishina was off with the sonar crew on the underwater charts. This left the bridge with only four people, Yonehara, Nakamura, Kouda and Norita. The three of them glanced uneasily at each other, until Nakamura put the phone back on the receiver.

"That was a report from engineering. They have put out the fires, and they believe they can reroute power from the other functional motors to run both screws."

"Have them do it. We might be getting some tugboat assistance as well."

"Hai, Kanchou."

While Nakamura reported back to the engine room the captain's orders, an urgent knocking on the sail hatch had the captain opening it back up. What followed was a veritable flood of firemen who trooped down to the engine room. When the flood had come and gone, Norita looked up at the captain from where he was sort of _stuffed_ into a corner, clutching onto his charts like they were a lifeline. The captain himself was pinned to the side of the room by the table, casually sipping from his mug of coffee.

"Yes, you should be worried."

* * *

The I-201 continued the rest of its journey back into harbour by tugboat, with the repair team that came with the firefighters working on fixing the busted propulsion. Meanwhile, the captain was settling with the harbourmaster the repairs and docking costs.

Toumai has an interesting submarine policy. Each submarine has a certain budget. They are to manage that budget throughout their sorties, with the treasury being topped up when they return to Toumai Marine High. They are not exempted from the usual harbour fees that may be charged by any harbour, and therefore need to carefully plan any stopovers they want to make along the way.

Thus, the captain actually had to go out and deal with the harbourmaster, instead of just claiming access using the school's name. It helped satisfy the local people, who saw the students/military playing fair. Meanwhile the rescue team had identified the source of the power surge to be from the batteries. Something had chewed through the protective casings of the battery holds, probably rats, and caused a short circuit. The power surge was when short circuits in multiple cells took place almost simultaneously, causing the rise in power being supplied to the motors.

A massive overheating incident later and the circuits within the motors melted down. The engine was affected by the huge amounts of heat generated as well, and eventually the high operating temperatures of the diesels went far too high, resulting in the fuel itself catching fire. According to the Repair Team's report, this was what they were able to reconstruct from the evidence they had. The Deputy had looked it over, along with the parts required to replace the damaged equipments and their costs, and knew his life was going to get much worse.

* * *

"Ah… isn't this great?" Sakamoto sipped from his glass of lemonade, smacking his lips with contentment. Beside him, Nishina was sitting on a beach blanket with Sakamoto, enjoying his own glass of lemonade. The two boys faced the sea, taking in the view of the endless sea, punctuated with the occasional fisherboat moving to and fro just over the horizon. Both of them were topless, sporting dark blue beach shorts that were the uniform of the I-201, though Nishina was wearing Sakamoto's red jacket since the sun wasn't as hot as he'd have likened it to be. In fact, the sea breeze was really cold, causing Nishina to start shivering up until Sakamoto had draped his jacket around his friend's shoulders.

"Mm… it sure is," Nishina agreed. As it was, the captains had decided to give the non-essential crew a free pass on the island, with only the bare minimum of people left onboard the sub to help the repair men in their work. Many of the submariners were therefore allowed to run freely on Ogasawara until their turn for watch came. The watch crew would be rotated around, so that it was still fair for everyone. That did come with the exception of two particular people.

"It's too bad both Yonehara-san and Nakamura-san are unable to come," Nishina commented. "Especially Yonehara-san. He would have loved this view."

"Hah! I see you've been digging in his stash again, haven't you!?" Sakamoto laughed heartily at his friend's expense. Nishina blushed heavily, hiding it by looking away.

"I-it was an a-accident! I was just in his room and saw the m-magazine under his p-pillow…"

Sakamoto just laughed harder, nearly spilling his drink. Further down the beach, a bunch of girls, possibly on a homecoming visit or something, were enjoying themselves on the beach. They had already gotten the attention of some of the boys, with one of the Torpedo crew trying his luck. He had walked away with a piece of paper stuck to his face with a very red handprint.

Finally calming down, Sakamoto returned to his friend's statement. "Yeah, given that they are both commanding officers of the ship, they had to stay onboard to look after I-201. That, and I don't think anyone could pull Nakamura-san away from his boat." The two boys sniggered at that thought.

All of a silence, a hush descended on the beach. The two of them looked up to see one boy bowing to the girls, who were whispering amongst themselves. Moments later, they turned and said something back to him, at which the boy thanked them before running back to his friends with the biggest shit-eating grin on his face.

"Oh dear…"

* * *

"Come on, Nakamura-san. You can't stay in there forever!"

"Yes I can! And there's nothing you can do about it!"

Norita sighed, lightly pressing his head against the metal door. The captain and maintenance people stood behind him in the corridor, having already exhausted their diplomatic methods of forcing Nakamura out. Steeling himself for what was to come, Norita raised his voice again.

"Nakamura-san, if you don't open the door, I'm going to have the radio room tell your secret. You know which one it is, _Mitsumi-kun~_ "

That got a reaction. The door inched open just a tiniest crack, not staying open long enough for the men to wedge a crowbar into the space before slamming back shut. "There!" Nakamura's voice carried through the thick steel door, sounding highly distressed and agitated. "I've opened the door for you, Norita-san. Now go away."

"…You leave me no choice. Ahem. 'Mitsumi-kun, how are things on your side? I've been staying over at your house the past few days, and your mother has been such a dear. Did you eat up all your peppers? I'm just waiting for you to come home, so that we could _build some ships t-together_ _~'"_

There was a pregnant silence, followed by a scream of utter terror and desperation. Next thing they knew, the door slammed open in a burst of thunder. A wild Nakamura appeared, panting and fuming in the doorway. In front of him, was the captain, a maintenance team that were for some reason equipped with nets, ropes and aerosol sprays, and the cause of his righteous fury.

Norita shivered under Nakamura's stare. He could feel the boy glaring daggers into his soul, despite being protected by a group of really muscular men. They weren't bulky like Barret, but they came close enough for the job.

A job which right now meant subduing a very enraged Nakamura.

The four-man team pounced on him, restraining the boy while the others entered the room. They were struck dumb by the contents. There was a worktable, meant for paperwork but instead used as a workshop. On the cabinet, on the spare bunk bed, and all over the floor, were various wooden models of different ships. Most of them were still in the unfinished hull stage, but some of them were already recognizable. Yonehara managed to spot a _Kagerou_ -class destroyer on the cabinet, as well as what must be the unfinished superstructure of a _Fusou_ -class battleship on the floor.

Littering the floor were several bags of matchboxes. Some bags were filled, others not, seeming to serve as rubbish deposal. From what was visible in the chaos, some of the bags were filled with the cut-off matchheads from the matchsticks, others filled with the now headless matchsticks, and others with the emptied matchboxes.

Someone sighed in the back, but Yonehara didn't really take note of that. There was only one word he managed to squeeze out.

"Wow."

* * *

Nishina cheered on his friend, who had been picked by the boys as a representative. That is, he had been chosen to take part in a friendly game of volleyball with the girls. The girls had accepted the challenge, with negotiations reducing the court to a five-on-five game of volleyball. Sakamoto had been chosen, given that he was a volleyball player back in middle school, and he was dashing enough for the job. His jet black, windswept hair was something that when paired with his visible abs, was a selling point for the boys.

Basically, the girls had agreed to give them their numbers if the boys beat them at a volleyball. As their best player available, Sakamoto had been roped in by his Torpedo crew to take part in the game. As such, having been caught up in the excitement, Nishina had followed Sakamoto, cheering for his friend. They had been winning for the first fifteen minutes, with a very strong score of five-nil. From there onwards the situation changed.

The girl in the front, wearing a red and white bikini, had been the target of the boys for quite a while now. They kept intentionally spiking the ball at her, forcing her to tire herself out intercepting the ball for the team.

Nishina noted that she was rather tanned, with long black hair that was held up by a rather cute flower hairclip. And the way she jumped, leaping for the ball while covered in a film of sweat, a wide grin on her face… He mentally slapped himself _hard_ for thinking that way.

Still, the aggressive play was tiring out the boys as well. Their intercepts became slower and more disjointed. Misses were becoming more common, and spikes were losing their energy. Sakamoto may have been a volleyball player, but one man cannot carry a team.

Especially a team that had half their thoughts filled with stuff unrelated to the match here and now.

Sakamoto panted, glaring at the tanned girl. She had not been tiring out as fast as they had hoped, and as their spiker, it was important that she be taken out fast enough to cripple the opposing team. Sadly, the same applied to the boys as well. Sakamoto was their spiker, and he was tiring too. Eventually, either one of them would break first. It was just a matter of time.

Trudging back to their beach mat, Sakamoto slumped down as he started drinking up both his and Nishina's lemonade. Nishina toweled off Sakamoto, fussing over him as he got the last bits of sand and sweat off his friend. Another boy, a torpedo crew member he didn't know who, was busy refilling Sakamoto's glass from the covered pitcher in the cooler bag. The other players were all receiving similar treatment, with boys and girls tending to their representatives. Eventually, the break was over, with the teams returning back to the court.

Sakamoto flashed the girl a proud grin, to which she just smirked back before serving the ball.

The game resumed in earnest. For the next few minutes, the boys managed to score two more points, with the girls sneaking in one of their own to reach a score of seven-one.

That was when everything went downhill.

For the remaining nine minutes and thirty seconds, the girls just kept scoring. Spike after spike, block after block, they kept sending the ball right through the tired boys' defenses. Any attempts to return the favour were stopped by the same girl, who now displayed her skills at blocking. She kept knocking the ball back at the two boys, where Sakamoto would be out of position to block, and his teammate being too slow in reacting to the sudden attack.

By the eleventh minute, the game was very strongly decided with an impressive lead of 16-7 by the girls. At this point Sakamoto was being pressured by the team to call it quits. A shouting match began, where Sakamoto wanted to see the game through to its conclusion, while the other torpedo crew boys wanted to just leave and save face.

Nishina knew what he had to do.

Armed with nothing more than a rulebook he had just finished reading five minutes ago, he stepped forward onto the court. Walking over to Sakamoto, he placed his hand on his shoulder.

The boy turned, only to have a finger poking him in the cheek.

The resulting blush spreading across his face was enough reward for him.

"Hey, Sakamoto-san." Nishina said, as he turned to look at the girls across the net.

"Yes, Nishina-kun?"

"Let's play ball."

* * *

Norita joined the watchman Watanabe, enjoying the sea breeze that was starting up again. The boy was watching something through his spyglass, something that if Norita's guess was right, was the ongoing volleyball match happening on the sands. As he gazed out to the beach, he could vaguely make out the human figure running around as they hit a little white object back and forth.

Another thing that he noticed was the ever tightening grip of the lookout's hand on the railings. Norita tapped him on the shoulder, asking him if he could take a look as well.

What he saw surprised him.

"Nishina-san?!"

* * *

Nishina and Sakamoto both just sort of _collapsed_ once the time was up. The panted in the sands for a while, letting the pounding blood in their ears fade away while their heart beat came back under control.

"Phew, never had to push… myself that far before… How about you, Nishina-kun?" Sakamoto tried for a grin, only to turn into a grimace as his right leg started to go into a cramp.

"Hah… tired… as… shit…" Nishina panted back, trying to keep his lunch down. Despite never playing volleyball before, he had been watching the players, he managed to guess out the rules of the game, as well as how he should be playing.

When he had gone in, he had carried with him all the theoretical knowledge he needed. The game had taught him otherwise. With a final embarrassing score of 25-8, he found out that in the case of volleyball, practical knowledge was much better.

Still, he had at least stepped in to help out Sakamoto, right when the crew were about to mutiny and just quit. He was proud of that, that he had done all he could for his bro.

He was content.

And the girl came over, looking down at the two exhausted boys.

"Well, that was a really well played match," she said. "Need a hand?"

Sakamoto tried to lift himself, but his body protested his actions, wracking him with a burst of pain. The girl giggled as she pulled him up regardless of his mumbled protests, draping his right arm over her shoulder so as to have him rest his body weight on her. She was joined by a breathless boy who looked like he had just run all the way from the docks.

"NISHINA-SAN!" he screamed, tearing to a stop beside the downed boy. "Nishina-san, are you alright?! Goddammit what did you do that for!" he continued, half sobbing half screaming as he threw down the sling bag around his shoulders.

Before Nishina could protest, Norita was already rubbing a deep heat lotion into his cramping legs and stomach, causing the boy to let out a moan of relief as the burning sensation soothed his overworked muscles. "Don't do stupid things like this next time, okay? There's no need to force yourself to do things like this!"

Puzzled, the girl who had stopped to look at the pair asked Norita, an admittedly cute boy with short light brown hair who barely reached her height, "What do you mean?"

He continued his work, applying more of the lotion on Nishina's body while talking to the girl, "Nishina's not a volleyball player. He never took up any sports clubs in middle school, only sticking to his beloved newspaper club. He has literally no experience playing volleyball ever, and knew he was going to regret it. A boy who knows nothing about volleyball, joining in just so that his best friend could keep playing."

The boy started to carefully lift the exhausted boy into a sitting position. "What I'm trying to say is, is that this idiot here sacrificed himself just so that the one over your shoulder back there could stay in the game." Packing away all his medical supplies, he glanced around at the steadily darkening beach front.

Gently placing Nishina in a fireman carry, the boy picked up his sling bag in his free hand. Just before he set off, he turned to the girl who was still standing there. "You know where his ship is right? Just bring him back to the submarine at the docks by 6 in the morning. We'll pick him up from there."

She started to protest, but the boy was already out of earshot. She looked down at the drunken boy nearly falling off her, and mentally groaned. She didn't even know why she decided to do this, but since she had done it, might as well follow through with it.

She began the slow walk back to the girls' chalet, towing Sakamoto with her.

* * *

Laying down the knocked-out Chief Navigator in his bunk, Norita couldn't help but notice how Spartan his room was. Apart from a simple picture frame showing his family, there was nothing in the way of personal artifacts in the room. Resisting the urge to poke around and try to find something interesting to look at, Norita left the room, gently closing the door as he did so.

From underneath the mattress, a brown and white rat briefly poked its head out into the darkness of the room, before ducking back inside its home.

* * *

Watanabe was bored. He had to stand guard atop the sail for so long, just to supervise the traffic flow. Repair teams streamed in and out, bringing in with them equipment every time. It was getting rather repetitive and boring, to the point he had been tempted to just jump ship and go have fun on the island.

Instead, he found a new use for the spyglass.

The volleyball match was really interesting, what with the girls jumping and diving around, showing off their assets. Those that were in the water too had some amazing stuff to showcase as well, and the less said about those sunbathing the better. Just like the amount of cloth that they were wearing.

He had been fantasizing over one of the sunbathers when Norita interrupted him, followed by a particularly loud scream from the boy. He had dashed back down the hatch, before reappearing in a flash of white and blue. He almost flew over the side in his haste, and when he reached the docks, he just ran for it. Given how far away the beach actually was, Watanabe was surprised when the boy literally ran the entire distance.

He was disturbed from watching the exchange when someone tried to board the ship. He managed to catch a glimpse of them out the corner of his eyes, and reacted as fast as he could. Throwing his arm out with the spyglass still tied to his wrist, Watanabe barely avoided having to touch the lady's chest as she jumped at his sudden movement.

"Sorry miss, but you're not allowed to board this boat."

He looked her up and down. She wore a black trench coat, a black version of the naval dress uniform, and a black version of the naval peaked cap. In fact, she was quite familiar to Watanabe…

Oh.

Oh crap.

Grinning from ear to ear as she evaluated her newfound prey, Mafuyu Munetani stood before him, a low chuckling growl coming from her throat.

* * *

By nightfall, there was no one else still moving around outside the submarine. Watanabe had gone to sleep atop the sail, with his replacement standing watch. Kashima sat in the fold-down seat built into the sail, keeping an eye out for anything unusual.

His usual blue jumpsuit had been replaced by the school uniform. A pair of long blue pants, a blue long sleeved shirt, and with a blue naval hat on his head completing the outfit. Nursing a hot cup of coffee, Kashima glanced out at the nearly pitch black surroundings with bleary eyes. He had been doing this for the past three hours, and was looking forward to the end of his watch when one of the logistics department crew came to relieve him.

He didn't notice the tiny shadow sliding off the top deck of the submarine, dulled by the heavy black cloak it wore.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

To the curious, Nishinoshima is actually relatively close to the Ogasawara Islands. As well as the Izu-Ogasawara Trench. And the Japan-Trench. And the Marinara Trench. Any guesses as to what's to come next?

And as another side note, I will be moving my posting schedule to Sundays to keep in track with the uploading of the Haifuri episodes. This is when reader traffic is apparently highest, so I'm going to be moving my schedule to match it. If I have to post late, I'll have it done up by Monday, so there hopefully won't be too much of a lag in postings.


	8. Chapter 6

Creeping out of his room, the boy first sniffed the air, before sharply sticking his head out to look left and right. Determining that no one was around, he quickly stepped forwards. Making haste, he hurried towards the stern of the submarine. He was about to cross the bridge, when he realized there was someone else there and ducked back into the dimly lit corridors.

The other boy sat at a table, rubbing tired eyes with the back of his hand while he was hunched over some papers and a book. The boy studied his movements for a while, before deciding that he could not cross the bridge without being seen. Back tracking, he went towards the first set of ladders he could find. Going down this set of painted grey rungs, he found himself standing among rows upon rows of metal structures. They gave off a strange sense that he found to be mildly distressful but bearable.

Now continuing towards the back of the sub, he found that he had to avoid a patrolling crew member. From the vague muttering he could hear, he was now among the battery banks of the submarine. It suited him fine. There were enough hiding spaces here, making it a good enough space for him to disappear into when he needed to.

Slowly working his way backwards while avoiding patrols, the boy was nearly detected twice before he spotted the next set of ladders. Unfortunately, to reach it he needed to cross a large space filled with working boys and men. They were banging away at the metal machines that made up the back end of the submarine. Some of them busied themselves with using their tools to make orange sparks fly from the machines, others were dismantling another machine that seemed to have been badly burnt.

Deeming it far too dangerous to cross that area, he went back to the upper deck to try his luck. One tired sentry would have much lower chances of spotting him sneak past, compared to a room full of tired sentries.

Going back up again, he found himself crouching as he hid behind the wall. He knew he should just try his luck, just make a run for it, but he could not bring himself to do it. Just as he was considering simply retreating back to his room and damn the gnawing of his stomach, his stomach betrayed him by growling as loud as it possibly could.

At that instant, the sentry snapped awake, scanning the room for the culprit. The boy huddled behind the wall, panicking. He knew that his cover was blown, that he should start running away. Before he could do anything, he felt the sentry's hand resting on his shoulder. Turning his head, the boy looked up fearfully into the sentry's eyes… and felt something poking his right cheek.

Looking down at it, he awkwardly slapped the hand away, growling at the sentry. If he was going to go down, it was going to be with a fight! What surprised him was the sentry's reaction.

"Nishina-san, you must be hungry after today, huh?"

Speechless, the boy looked back at the sentry.

"It's ok, I'll go get something for you, just sit here and wait, ok?"

Without saying anything more, the sentry walked off to where the boy had wanted to go. He entered the galley, and soon the boy could smell something delicious being warmed up. Walking over to the entrance, he saw the boy preparing a sandwich while something was being heated in a microwave.

In a few more minutes, he opened the door, all the while humming a little tune to himself. Pulling out a glass of warm milk, he loaded up a tray with the sandwich and drink. He walked out the pantry door to find the boy already seated in his seat, eagerly looking at him with the expression of a cute hungry pet.

The sentry placed the tray before him, saying, "Go ahead. It's all for you."

The boy looked at the food, sniffing it for any rat poison. Satisfied that is was as safe as it could get, he started stuffing it in. The wonderful taste of tuna and sesame oil flooding his mouth with every bite drowned out his senses. Bite after bite, he demolished the sandwich until all that was left of it were the little bread crumbs he had dropped on himself while he ate.

That too he picked up and popped into his mouth.

As he chugged down he milk, the boy couldn't help but notice the way the sentry was staring at him. Perhaps he was actually under guard after all? But why would he have given him food if that were true? He pondered on the question for a few more seconds, eventually deciding that it didn't matter.

Slamming the glass down with a satisfied sigh, he smiled at the feeling the food gave him. His stomach was already working to process the food; food he had found rather delicious. He was distracted from his internal thoughts by the sentry asking him something.

"Want to go up?"

He stared at the sentry for a while, before nodding his head. The sentry then led him up another set of ladders. They passed through another room filled with lots of shiny metal machinery, which they did not stop at. They went on, up to the very top where the watchman was trying but failing to not sleep on the job. Another boy was there as well, but he was asleep, lying curled up on the floor.

The sentry exchanged a few words with the watchman, and as they talked, the boy went to the railings to take a look at where he was. It was rather familiar. They were aboard a submarine that was docked. It was tied up alongside a pier, gently bobbing up and down with the strong winds at night stirring up waves. A series of antennae were up here with them as well, with some strange sensation coming from them as well. He decided to stay further away from those things.

Looking out over the harbor, he couldn't help but notice how quiet the place was. Not a soul was moving, not a light was to be seen. The only source of light was from the moon shining overhead and the few working streetlights. All in all, it was really calming and peaceful, perfect for sleeping.

He did just that. Falling asleep against the railing.

He regretted it instantly.

Tumbling over the edge, all he could do was let out a strangled scream before bouncing off the rubber tiled top deck and into the water.

* * *

Earlier that evening

Sakamoto was dimly aware of what was happening to him. He was being taken to some pretty girl's house, while his buddy was being taken back to the submarine. Normally most boys would have jumped at a chance like this to score it big with a girl. Especially someone as pretty as her.

Her tanned skin was really warm to the touch, her long black hair soft and silky with the faintest whiff of strawberries. Adding to that, the little flower hairclip she wore on her left to hold up her fringe was _really_ cute. Something inside him was melting just by being in such close contact with the girl as she lugged him to her house.

Tired as he was, Sakamoto could still manage some words. "Where… we… going?"

"To… my house. My friends… are staying there… with me." Was the girls reply. Sakamoto felt something trying to poke him through his clouded mind.

"Its… fine… Ship's that way…"

"No, I'm taking you to my house. It's much closer to the beach than your submarine, and besides I can't carry you up there by myself."

"Nori…ta could do it… for you…"

Sakamoto felt his human crutch hesitate for a moment, before she continued towards the house. It was getting ever closer and closer, it's dim lights shining out onto the porch, giving it a warm orange glow. …never mind that, we're here."

The girl reached out with her hand to knock on the back door, but had it opened for her by another person inside. The other girl had blond hair, and wore a really cute set of light blue pajamas with little bear decals. She had been in the middle of preparing for the night, since she still held a hairbrush and was still working at a knot in her hair.

"Oi, Onee-chan, hurry up and come in – _is that a BOY?!_ "

"Shh! No need to be so loud–"

"Hey, is Naomi back – oh my gods _IT'S A BOY!?_ "

"Whazza? Huh? Wha's goin' on–"

Sakamoto could feel the girl–Naomi–heating up underneath him as more and more of the residents in the house started to wake up. Resolving herself, she stepped into the house, bringing Sakamoto with her. That is, until one of the housemates planted herself in her path. Obviously she was trying to be intimidating, but being a good head shorter than Naomi meant all she did was make herself look even cuter.

"Onee-chan, what are you DOING!? What'd you bring a stranger in here for?"

Naomi looked at her, "I… I don't really know why myself…"

"Then just kick him out!"

"…look, just help me get a glass of water for our guest, okay? I'll explain more to you guys later."

"…Onee-chan?"

"Yes?"

"Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone, k?"

Naomi's face was really flushed this time; Sakamoto could see from where she had deposited him at the dining room table. "You little–!" Too late, the blonde girl ran into the kitchen giggling away. Naomi sighed as she sat herself down at the table across Sakamoto.

"Look, if I'm causing you any trouble you can just let me go. I know my way back to the ship, there's no need to worry about me."

Naomi had her face buried in her hands, and now as he talked, she tiredly brushed the hair out of the face. "It's not that. There is something else I need to do that involves you. I can't really say it here since… you know." Sakamoto looked around him. A clock over the mantelpiece told the time as 15 minutes to 9pm. The fireplace was cold, though it seemed to have been recently put out. The room had very little in the way of decorations, of which the only thing he could see was the vase of yellow flowers on the dining table.

He had just come in through the back door, which led directly to the dining room. The dining room had no divider with the living room, making it one large common area to the right of the back door. A set of stairs directly opposite the back door led upstairs, to the other rooms in the house. From where he was sitting, Sakamoto could tell he was sitting along the line of symmetry of the house.

And scattered around the floor of the living room were a bunch of girls all in various states of preparations for sleep. Some were already tucked away in their sleeping bags and snoring away, others had been mingling with each other or still in the middle of cleaning themselves up.

Something that Sakamoto had inadvertently walked in on. Said girls were currently glaring daggers into his soul as they covered themselves up with the nearest pieces of cloth they could find. If not for the sake of their sleeping friends, they might have just brought the whole house down with the screaming they would have made.

"I see why. Are you sure this is a good place for us to be, if you needed to talk to me about something?"

"My orders were to bring you here. That's all."

 _Orders?_

Before he could ask her anything else, the little blonde girl came back carrying a tumbler and two glasses. As the girl was about to pour, Naomi stopped her and bade her goodnight. The girl smirked back at Naomi, "Don't forget, if you really want to do it, the upstairs attic should be safe enough~"

The blonde girl barely jumped away in time from the playful swipe Naomi made at her. While she tucked herself away in her sleeping bag, Naomi turned back at her guest. From her pocket, she pulled out a tube of Berocca, which she popped the cap off. Pouring out water into the two glasses, she dumped a tablet each into the glasses of water.

Handing him one, Sakamoto tried to turn her down, but at Naomi's insisting gaze, he took the drink in both hands. She chugged hers down as fast as she could, and began to pour herself another glass.

"Um… you shouldn't be taking too many of those–"

"Shut up and drink up yours already."

Seeing her irritable manner, Sakamoto decided not to argue and took a sip. It had an orangey taste that fizzed on his tongue like a soft drink. When his host gave him a stern look, he hurried up and downed the rest of the glass.

Up until he felt something in his mouth and choked. Spewing water back out, he started coughing as he spat the object onto the table. Sighing, the girl had already moved to start wiping down the table with a table cloth she had produced from… somewhere. While his sudden choking got the attention of a few of the scandalized girls in the room, the rest just ignored him while they settled in for sleep.

When Sakamoto had finished panting, Naomi dragged him upstairs. Sakamoto had barely enough time to pocket the object he had choked on before the girl's pulling on his ear became too painful. They went up two floors and into the attic, where Naomi turned to face him once the attic hatch was shut.

"Ok, here's the plan. Stay here, make absolutely no noise. Tomorrow morning by 10am, there won't be anybody left in the house, so you can just leave by the opened window on the second floor. If we find anything missing, then I will personally hunt you down and I will _kill_ you. Got it?"

"But– What's going on?"

Naomi gave him her best irritated expression, "I need you to shut up, and leave tomorrow morning when no one is around. That clear?"

"No, I mean, what is going on?"

"That capsule." Naomi grabbed his hand holding the capsule, forcing it to open. "Inside it is all the information you will need. Best to open it when your superior officers are around though, because the information inside is very important to them as well."

Sakamoto looked at the black plastic capsule in his right hand. How could something so small, barely bigger than his thumbnail, contain anything valuable? "You're bullshitting me. There's no way there's anything of value in here."

Naomi just gave him a knowing smile as she pulled open the hatch. "You'll see."

With that, she was gone, leaving a very confused boy and a little black capsule sitting in his hand.

* * *

Earlier that evening

Watanabe was having a relatively boring evening, when all the eye candy had left for home, leaving the beach empty. It was to be a straightforward watch duty. Keep an eye out for any intruders or suspicious people. What he did not expect was the infamous, newly integrated Munetani Mafuyu appearing right next to him.

"Sorry miss, but you're not allowed to board this boat."

Watanabe stood his ground against her, despite the sheer amount of terror and intimidation she was giving off.

And despite her being about 6 inches shorter than Watanabe.

Mafuyu grinned, "Fufufu, ya scared?"

Watanabe felt a drop of sweat roll down his back as he struggled to form coherent thoughts. "W-what is it you want, Munetani-san?"

"I need to speak with your captain. It is regarding serious matters involving your submarine."

Watanabe ran a pre-memorised watchlist and knew that the captain should be asleep at the moment. But the Deputy should still be awake. Telling Mafuyu to wait, he turned to the intercom and called the bridge. "Nakamura-san, are you there?"

 _"_ _Yes, what is it?"_

Watanabe breathed a silent sigh of relief. "There is a Blue Mermaid visitor waiting to see you."

There was a brief moment of silence, followed by the rushed shuffling of papers and general chaos going on in the bridge. Watanabe waited for what felt like eternity, with the infinitely scary Mafuyu standing behind him, before the intercom crackled back to life. _"Send her in."_

"Alright then. Miss, please take a step back." As Mafuyu did so, Watanabe began turning the circular lock to open the waterproof hatch. Once done, he lifted it up, ushering Mafuyu into the submarine.

* * *

"It is a pleasure to have you, Miss Munetani."

"Likewise. Where is the captain?"

"He is asleep at the moment. As his deputy, I am allowed to cover for him regarding matters such as this. What is it?" Nakamura said to Mafuyu, as she visibly puckered her face at the man smell in the bridge. Nakamura noticed how her eyes darted over the mess of paperwork hurriedly stuffed away in the files scattered on the table.

"Mm… no. This is for the Captain's ears only. Orders from HQ, not my call." Mafuyu tossed back casually, while she continued surveying the bridge. Nakamura was starting to get irritated. First, he had his secret exposed to the Captain and Norita, as well as multiple outsiders. Next, he was stuck alone on watch duty. Watch duty was one of the most boring parts of a submariner's life, when the only thing you could do was watch the equipment to see if anything started acting up. It would have been bearable if there were other people around, but the captain had released them to the beach.

This meant that they were currently running a skeleton crew on the I-201. What pissed Nakamura off the most was that while he and the Captain were more or less confined to the sub, the others were still allowed to leave and explore the island.

However, it did not do well to show visitors his irritation, so with his emotions concealed under a poker face mask, he went to the bridge intercom.

"Captain, you are needed on the bridge."

What proceeded was a fifteen-minute wait for Yonehara. While they waited, the folding chairs were brought out around the table for them to sit. To pass the time, Nakamura decided to try talking with Mafuyu. "So, what's it like as a Blue Mermaid?"

"Mm… I can say that it's actually rather stressful, since we have a lot of paperwork shit to cover. You? How's life on a submarine?"

Nakamura had to withhold his laughter. "Life's really good here. We're all one big happy family–" drifting down the corridor came the distinct shouting of the Chief Engineer "–and everybody gets along well with each other." _If you want to play the vague game, then I can play along as well._

Mafuyu looked at him across the table, and with a very conspiratorial smile, suggested something utterly ridiculous to him. "Ja, then how about an arm wrestling match? Right here, right now."

Nakamura smiled back, "Of course, my dear lady." As the two put up their dukes, Nakamura felt the need to warn her first "Just want to say, I'll be going easy on you–"

 ***Blam***

With a solid slamming sound, Mafuyu had Nakamura's hand firmly pressed against the table top. Nakamura's brain processes ground to a halt. _Wha–_

"Ok, I wasn't ready. Again!"

Mafuyu just smirked. They set up again, and this time Nakamura really strained. Despite the desperate noises Nakamura was making, by the time the fifteenth second had passed, Nakamura looked up through his sweaty hair at Mafuyu, who just tilted her head and laughed. Looking back at him, she asked in as sweet a voice as she could, "Done yet?"

With a soul shattering slam, Nakamura felt his arm pressed firmly against the table. Mafuyu seemed to be hovering right over him, as a very dangerous aura grew around her.

Nakamura couldn't believe how bad his day was. And so, with much desperation and anger, and a very desperate need to save his pride, he shouted back at Mafuyu, "Again!"

* * *

By the time the captain arrived, there was a sizable crowd in the bridge. As he struggled to the front, he could hear the distinct chanting of the crew. "Miwa! Miwa! Miwa!"

Finally, able to see over their shoulders, he found a most impressive sight. A girl dressed in all black was arm wrestling his Chief Engineer. They boy had a most impressive vein popping on his forehead as he spewed a never ending string of curses. To his credit, the girl was straining as well, with beads of sweat running down her forehead. Still, she was slowly but steadily winning. It took her another thirty seconds before the Chief Engineer's hand was finally slammed against the table, causing the crew to groan.

That was until they spotted the captain amongst them.

With a cry of delight and triumph, they picked up a shocked Yonehara and dragged him to the front, where he faced a predator in its natural element. "Er…"

"Hara! Hara! Hara!"

"Really, I don't want to do this–"

"HARA! HARA! HARA!"

"Come on–"

 **"** **HARA! HARA! HARA!"**

"FINE!" With a shout, he sat himself down at the table. Which judging by the number of boys all prostrating before the girl, had already claimed many of his sailors. One of them included to be his Deputy, which gave Yonehara pause. "Before we begin, may I know your name?"

The girl smirked, baring what appeared to be… a cute little fang. "My name's Munetani Mafuyu. Fufufu, ya scared?"

The captain just gave a gentle smile, as he rested his elbow on the table, "Alright then, Miss Munetani, prepare yourself. Referee, if you would?"

The boy in question just nodded, grasping hold of both of their hands and counting down. "Three, two, one… BEGIN!" He released their hands on the last word, stepping back and watching the show. He was rather glad he didn't blink The whole room had stopped breathing.

Mafuyu's hand was firmly pressed against the table's surface, with Yonehara pinning it down while her fingers twitched. Her face was utterly priceless, while Yonehara still held that bored expression that said the same as his next words: "Are we done yet?"

"No! I demand a rematch!" Yonehara just sighed.

* * *

After five more rematches, Yonehara had to firmly decline Mafuyu, as well as chase all the boys away from the bridge. While the girl sat at the table as she stared at her hand in shock, the captain and his assistant blockaded off the doors in and out of the bridge. To be extra sure, Nakamura had the place swept for listening bugs and other recording devices. Once done, the three people left in the room sat themselves down at the table in preparation of what was to come.

"So… nice to meet you. My name is Yonehara Diago, Captain of the I-201. What is it that has to be discussed for my ears only?" He glanced over at Nakamura, "And my Deputy as well."

Mafuyu pulled out from a back pocket in her skirt a folded manila envelope, which she proceeded to unfold and open. "First off, have you heard about the submarine crisis that has occurred?" Seeing the two boys shake their heads, she continued.

"The TBMH _Kuroshio_ was sunk just two days ago. Rescuers managed to recover the entire class of seniors, but sadly two members are still missing, with another confirmed dead. Preliminary investigations revealed that the cause of sinking was due to the ramming of a large object in the bow of the submerged submarine.

"The officials are suspecting the object to have been a whale, as a dead whale has been found floating about 15 nautical miles from the impact site with a very bad wound and multiple fractures and lacerations. What we are trying to investigate is the reason behind the _Kuroshio_ travelling at their high speeds of twenty knots while underwater.

"Next, while the Instructor ship TBMH _Mirai_ was on its way back to Toumai, they reported multiple attempts by the students to escape from the ship. The first case occurred at around 1045 local time, when a student who was later diagnosed to be suffering from depression attempted to jump overboard. The Instructors managed to restrain him. Subsequently, they reported 12 more attempts to jump ship, all of which the Instructors managed to intercept. The last attempt occurred at 2256 local time.

"What I was informed to tell you about, was that there has been suspicious activity ongoing among the submarines. For some reason, from our satellite footage, we have visually identified 13 submarines, all of which are heading on a course that will converge within this area."

On saying so, Mafuyu spread out the map from the manila envelope, pointing to a circle drawn out in red ink. The centre of the circle was roughly the midpoint between the two islands of Ogasawara and Nishinoshima, and with a diameter of 140 kilometres, or 75.6 nautical miles. In other words, the circle encompassed practically the entire Ogasawara chain of islands.

"We have reason to believe that the submarines might try to make contact with you. They have been doing so among the affected submarines that we managed to identify. Over the past month, all the affected submarines had been in close contact with each other for at least a period of one week. They are planning something. Though your school has not disclosed the mission plans of these submarines, that many in one place is no coincidence."

"So what do you want us to do?" This came from Nakamura. While he knew how to play the politics game, he still hated it with every fibre of his being. He had already been having a very bad day and with all the extra things happening, he could feel something inside him was going to blow.

"What we need you gentlemen to do is simply inform us if anyone tries to make contact with you or your crew. Record everything you are able to about what they want and everything that they say. We need to know what's going on, and you are one of the most likely targets that they will pick. Are there any questions?"

"Mm… would you be able to tell us what this mess is about? Like, did anything happen in this area? Perhaps that's what's causing the convergence of submarines. Besides, how do you know that this is their intended area. It could all be just a coincidence." Yonehara pushed forward. His deputy looked rather uneasy, like as if this whole farce smelled of politics.

"We need to know why they are gathering like this. In World War Two, that foreign country nearly strangled its enemy to death by unrestricted submarine warfare. They scattered their submarines throughout the oceans, and when they found a target they converged on it from all points on the compass.

"What this tactic was called, was the Wolfpack."

* * *

 **Author's notes**

Yay... here we are, at chapter 6 of Contact! There is something very important I need to share with you guys. I will be unable to continue the story soon. By the end of June, I will need to go back to my studies, so I won't be able to spend much time on the story. As a plus side, this means that my schedule is going to get thrown out the window as I frantically upload chapter after chapter to finish this tale before my cut off date.

For the curious, Berocca is a supplement that is advertised to help boost energy by improving the body's metabolism efficiency (or something like that). The main effect I needed here was the fizzing and dissolving of the tablet when you throw it into water.

Maybe when this is done I'll do a spin off tale of the girls from the Volleyball team? (BTW their arrival is totally not related to how Mafuyu's first actions on arrival were to grope her sister's butt while screaming GUTS!) XD


	9. Chapter 7

**Author's notes**

 **First off, I want to say that I'm really sorry for the delay in getting this chapter out. My grandfather was in critical condition in the hospital for the past two weeks. He passed away only a few days ago on 11 June at 5.15am. I was busy with the funeral over the past few days, which severely delayed my writing and the production of this chapter. That being said, please enjoy the latest installment of Haifuri - Contact!**

* * *

Submarine I-201

"Hey Yahachi, how's the watch?"

Norita climbed up the hatch to join the Second Engineer. The boy was holding the "balls to four" midnight watch, much to his irritation and sleepiness. Beside him, the lookout Watanabe slept on the floor as he caught up on his much needed rest.

"Bloody shit, I tell you what." The two boys chuckled. Kashima Yahachi, Second Engineer, was dressed in his standard Toumai uniform, with raccoon eye bags and nursing a mug of coffee. At this point, his job was to spot troublemakers on the docks and stop uninvited guests from boarding the submarine. Watanabe had barely escaped his captain's wrath for him allowing Mafuyu onboard when it was pointed out that the Blue Mermaids had a near unshakable right to board any vessel they are in need of. This made it not his fault that someone without the proper passes and paperwork was able to enter the submarine.

Needless to say, this made one of the captains' day that much worse.

"So how has your day been? What with the fire and all?"

Yahachi gave Norita a _what-the-heck-are-you-saying_ face. "You mean, how was my day, after I had to deal with all that bullshit?" At Norita's nod, Yahachi mock threatened to hurl his mug at him. "The motors on one side of the submarine had burst into flames out of nowhere. The thermocouples showed no abnormal fluctuations all the way through the fire. They registered no changes _at all_ to the temperature of the motor, which is just weird.

"That was a completely brand new set of thermocouples that had been shipped for us. And every single one of them had failed. Now those two are trying to pin the blame on me. Since I was the one who had installed them, somehow they assumed that I was the one who sabotaged them. The fire crews however say that all the equipment was working fine, from post-accident analysis."

Yahachi paused to take a huge gulp of his coffee. His eyes had that far-off look in them, as he ran all the possibilities through his head. "Now, at best all I'll get is a stern scolding and a black mark, at worst…" He trailed off. Both boys knew what the consequences would be for sabotage. It could result in expulsion, jail term, fines, and/or corporal punishment based on the severity of the sabotage attempt. In this case, if the superiors decided to go all the way out, Yahachi could already envision the possible outcomes for him.

"Hey, you do realize that I'm here as well right. I'm pretty sure those two aren't so bad, they wouldn't go that far. Besides, I could pull some strings, get the Deputy to help you out or something." As Norita spoke, he drew closer and closer to his friend until they were brushing shoulders. "Anyway, cheer up!" He put an arm around Yahachi as he pulled the two of them close. "Who knows what goes on in the captain's head anyway? Whatever happens, we'll get through it together. I promise."

Yahachi smiled as he leaned his head on Norita's shoulder. "Of course, Norita-kun–"

"GAH!" A sudden high pitched scream rang out from directly beside them. As Norita turned, he just caught a glimpse of Nishina's red sneakers going over the edge.

"Crap!" Norita rushed over, just in time to catch Nishina bouncing off the rubber-tiled deck. The boy fell into the sea with all the grace of a tap-dancing elephant.

"Oh shit."

* * *

Nishina came to surrounded by water. He gasped as his eyes were stung by the salty seawater, only to choke as he inhaled a mouthful of water. Thrashing wildly, he managed to force himself to the surface. With his heart hammering away in his chest, Nishina couldn't make out where he was. Surrounded by water, in the middle of the night as evidenced by the half-moon hanging overhead, and he could barely see past his own fingers.

The sounds of muted shouting came from above him as he looked up. Coughing out seawater, Nishina swam towards the lifebuoy tossed into the water. He clung to it like a baby. Someone turned on a flashlight, shining it onto the ladders built into the sides of the dock. Nishina swam over, all the while doing his best to stop his chattering teeth in the freezing cold sea breeze.

Reaching the built in ladders, he hauled himself up on laborious rung at a time. At the last few steps, he let himself be pulled up by somebody who had come down from the submarine to meet him. Norita draped a warm blanket around Nishina's shivering body as he handed him a mug of hot cocoa. Nishina took the cup in both hands, letting its warmth seep back into his body.

On the sail, the captain was busy giving Yahachi the dressing down of his life, while the poor boy looked like he was doing his best to melt into a puddle and disappear. Nishina looked around him in a daze. It had all seemed so real. The conversation with Norita, the meal that the boy had given him, and even going atop the sail to look at his surroundings.

At the time, it had seemed so much like a dream. For some reason something told him that everything he had been seeing was just a dream. Even when he had suddenly started falling, Nishina was sure that he would be fine, that he would wake up in his bunk panicked but perfectly fine.

Now as he sat on the pier vomiting up seawater and whatever else was in his stomach, he was not so sure. Norita was rubbing his back, soothing him while his stomach rebelled. Eventually Nishina felt good enough to stand, which he did.

"Here, lean on me." Nishina did so, letting the boy drape his left arm around his shoulders. Like that, the two of them made their way back onboard the I-201.

* * *

"What do you mean by you thought it was a dream?"

"Exactly what I said, Captain. I felt like I was dreaming, and all of a sudden I wake up at the end sinking in the harbor."

"Captain, Sakamoto-san's medical records have absolutely no mentions of any sleepwalking disorders. For him to suddenly develop sleepwalking now is really strange," added Kaburagi Ichiro, medical corpsman for the I-201.

Yonehara clasped his hands together as if in prayer. He sat before the three boys involved, Nishina, Norita and Yahachi in the bridge, with a green cloth draped over the movable table. Behind him stood a sleep-deprived Nakamura, who looked for all the world like all he wanted was a good night's sleep.

Deep within the submarine the engineering team was finishing up the work that they could do. The fire had completely destroyed Engine 1 as well as Motor 1. Motor 2 was still repairable by cannibalizing Motor 1, but without a new engine block and motor block, the submarine was heavily crippled in its travel ability.

The submarine was designed as such; Engine 1 recharged Motors 1 and 2 while Engine 2 recharged Motors 3 and 4. Each pair of motors powered one screw. The two screws were placed side by side on a horizontal axis. This meant that losing Motor 1 lost half the power for one screw. To even travel in a straight line, either Motors 3 and 4 had to run at half capacity or they fix the rudder on a permanent 5 degree turn towards starboard. Both methods would result in a loss in speed and maneuverability. Therefore, I-201 was to be confined in Ogasawara until Repair Ship Akashi arrives in two days' time. Now they only had to wait another day for the Akashi to arrive, when a spare engine and motor block could be fitted.

Meanwhile, the Chief Engineer Miwa Kenji was looking over the equipment list that his First Engineer, Imai Tadashige, had prepared for him. A separate team of engineers were re-inspecting the many components of the entire propulsion system. A sabotage attempt had cost them two very important pieces of equipment. Nobody wanted another sabotage attempt to take place.

Having gone through the list, he went onto the next thing on his agenda. Kashima Yahachi, his Second Engineer. For some reason the lad had been giving them trouble after trouble. The sabotage attempt was blamed on him, primarily because he was the one who had replaced all the thermocouples that had been damaged. Since he was the last person to touch the equipment, he was the most likely suspect. Next, someone had fallen overboard while he was on watch. Something like that was not supposed to happen!

That's why the boy was now confined to his bunk until Miwa and the captain could decide on something suitable for him. It may be tough, but they were operating on a "guilty unless proven innocent" judgement system here.

Still, Miwa could feel something gnawing at him from within. Something entirely unwelcome and painful to bear.

* * *

A certain chalet

Sakamoto opened his eyes to the darkness of his room/prison cell. He had been trapped in the attic the entire night, given that the house was apparently full of sleeping girls. If anyone saw him, he would be lynched on the spot.

His hostess, Natori Naomi, had at least been kind enough to give him a way out. A way out that he would be unable to take in time. She planned for him to escape during the day, when everyone else had left. However, there was one big problem with that plan. He had no idea when the I-201 would leave. If they were to leave without him, then he would be in very big trouble. Given that from what his hazy memories of the night showed him, Norita actually knew that he would still be on the island.

Hopefully Norita would inform the others that he was still here. In a house full of girls. In the dead of the night.

 _Which would I die of first? Death by girls or death by embarrassment?_

He waited for a few more minutes. He had gone to sleep for only a few hours, meaning that as he checked his wristwatch, the time now was 3am in the morning. This was the best time, if any, for him to take his leave.

While Sakamoto packed up everything to erase any signs that he had ever existed, his thoughts kept drifting to the little black capsule in his pocket. What _was_ it for? He had tried to open it, and to his surprise it actually opened quite easily, but all that was inside was a tightly rolled piece of plastic. He didn't dare remove it, since it was supposed to be holding important information, but he also felt rather curious as to what it was.

Having recapped it, Sakamoto left the capsule in his pocket. After making sure that the roll of bedding he had _borrowed_ was back exactly where he found it, he surveyed the room. It was back to exactly the way it was, except for the dust tracks. That he had no choice but to leave it. Messing with those any further would just make it even more obvious that he was here.

 _Now, how to escape?_

Surveying the room, Sakamoto found the only means of escape to be the window. Walking over, he was about to push it open just a crack…

 _SCREE…!_

The rusty hinges gave a bone chilling shriek. Wincing, Sakamoto glanced feverishly over his shoulder, half expecting some monster to jump at him from the shadows of the attic. When his racing heart had calmed down enough, Sakamoto took a look at the window again. Casting about the room, he found somebody's toolbox.

Rummaging inside the toolbox, he found what he was looking for: a bottle of castor oil. He poured the oil liberally over the hinges. Having waited several minutes, Sakamoto went to try the window again. This time, it opened with no sound, greatly relieving Sakamoto.

Just before he climbed out the window, he looked down.

And promptly shut the window again.

Beneath him was a two story drop onto a gravel pathway with no means of breaking his fall. While the drop was actually still doable, there was still a chance of him twisting his ankles. And while he may be able to avoid that, the noise from such a landing would definitely wake up _somebody_.

He looked for another way out. The only other way out would be the way he came in. Gently opening the trapdoor, he took a peek outside. Seeing nobody, he let the hatch open further. The drop-down ladder built into the trapdoor opened, sliding down and landing on a girl sleeping underneath the trap door.

Time seemed to slow down. The girl, Sakamoto noticed, would seem to be rather short, reaching to only his chest or shoulder height. She had a long mane of red hair, all tangled up and spread around her like an angel's halo. A set of plain light green pajamas rested on her body, a pair of bathroom slippers lying just inches away from where she had kicked them off her feet in her sleep.

The ladder was falling towards her at an acceleration of about 8m per second. The distance from floor to ceiling was barely 2m. Given that it had an estimated mass of 30kg, it was going to hit her with a force of about…

Just as Sakamoto reached the numbers of 0.71 and 240, several things happened. The girl rolled onto her side in her sleep. The foot of the ladder missed her by less than an inch. The lowest rung of the ladder impacted her on her right arm. And to top it all off, the force of the impact woke the girl up with a startled cry.

Akemi had been having a very strange dream. She had dreamt that there was a man approaching her, cornering her into a back alley. He got closer, and closer, and right as he panted hot breaths of air into her ears, something hit her on her side. It was not strong, just enough to be noticeable. It still triggered her reaction anyway. With an almighty _"KYAAA!"_ she thrashed, punching the man in her already evaporating dream.

Blinking her eyes open, Akemi found a weight pressing on her hips. Looking up, she saw the attic ladder pinning her to the floor, while something moved in the shadows of the attic. She screamed again.

* * *

Sakamoto was already moving. The instant he arrived at the conclusion that there was nothing he could do to stop the oncoming train wreck, he fled. Rushing to the window, he had just reopened it when the first _KYAA!_ reached him. By the time of the second _KYAA!_ he was hanging dangerously to the outside of the building.

There was a little ledge all around the building at each floor. He stood on this one, while using his body weight to push the attic window shut. There was frantic thumping from the floors beneath his feet as over 40 girls woke up at once. While they were all panicking, the redhead was _still_ screaming away. When she suddenly stopped, Sakamoto breathed a sigh of relief. He gave the window another kick, forcing it a few more degrees shut. At that exact moment, she screamed _again_ , even louder than before.

"Shit!"

Sakamoto nearly lost his grip on the brick wall, pressing his body as flat against the side of the wall as he could. Directly below him, movement noises stopped. One of the girls, a certain blonde haired, blue kuma pajamas wearing loli, started to poke her head out of the window directly beneath Sakamoto.

She looked up.

There was only enough time for her to register the black mass standing directly above her before her mind blanked. She screamed.

The second screamer startled the shit out of Sakamoto, causing him to lose his grip on the brick wall. He fell.

* * *

Panting, Sakamoto glanced around the corner. The houses were arranged in rows along the beachfront. Running from the rampaging girls had slightly easier than expected. They were disorganized, with several conflicting witnesses and leaders amongst them. The ones who were actually in charge and those trying to be in charge kept giving conflicting instructions to their friends.

When he fell, the girl had managed to duck back inside the room, letting him fall past unimpeded. Meanwhile, the open bottle of castor oil he had set on the outside ledge fell with him, splattering all over his body. Once Sakamoto hit the ground, he had rolled, coating himself in a layer of gravel and fallen leaves. So when the girl had looked back out accompanied by several of her friends, they saw some _abomination_ climbing to its feet, swaying drunkenly as it seemingly stared _right back at them_.

They fainted.

After Sakamoto had regained his breath, he climbed painfully to his feet, all too conscious of the fact that he might have broken something. After a brief pat-down revealed nothing, he looked out to sea. The moon was shining in from the harbor, giving him an instantly recognizable silhouette of the I-201. His plans of running back on board were foiled when behind him, someone shouted, "There! GET HIM!"

Faced with the wrath of forty maidens scorned, Sakamoto preferred just disappearing into the surrounding areas. The run to the submarine was mostly over open ground, while right next to him he had all the cover he would ever need.

So biding goodbye to any hopes of returning to the submarine any time soon, Sakamoto turned to his right, and ran for the cover of the nearby chalet buildings.

 _This was going to be a long night…_

* * *

Submarine I-201

Norita waited outside the officer's room. The captains had dragged Yahachi in there once Nishina had been rescued. It had been over an hour since the boy had gone in and there was _still_ no sign that he would be released soon. Next to him, the First Engineer Imai Tadashige waited for the verdict as well. The two boys had barely exchanged more than a greeting before the awkwardness got to both of them.

The silence was broken when the door opened on well-oiled hinges, revealing a visibly traumatized Kashima Yahachi. The boy took only a few steps past the doorframe before being swept into a comforting hug by his best friend Norita. While he wept into Norita's chest, Imai turned to face his superior officer.

"What did you do?"

The Chief Engineer kept his head bowed while the two captains exited the room.

"We have decided that…" here Nakamura's voice faltered, struggling to contain his emotions. "…Ah screw it. Captain, even that was _way_ too harsh on him!" Wheeling onto Yonehara, Nakamura shouted at his captain's stony face.

The captain did not reply, keeping his face emotionless as he faced the two of them, Norita and Imai.

"We decided…" The two boys looked up at him in dread. Yonehara took in a deep breath.

"That he shall be confined to the brig for the next 48 hours. If anything happens to the submarine that involves him in the slightest, I will write in a report to the Principal to have him retained by the school once we reach the main islands."

The two boys took a while to digest the news, their faces slowly giving way to horror.

"Furthermore, this incident will be classified as sabotage, a blackmark that he will carry for the rest of his life. There will be no revocation of this ruling. Any questions?"

The two boys just stared at the captain. Miwa still had his head bowed while Nakamura stood off to the side, his head likewise staring at the ground. Yahachi's sobbing had mostly subsided, leaving him with just trying to dry off his face with his shirt sleeves. Imai's face turned into one of anger.

"You sick f***!" he shouted at the captain. "Does giving out punishments make you f****** happy you f***!? This is how a f****** captain should behave? Tell me you little shit," he lunged forwards, grabbing Yonehara by the collar. "What the f*** possessed you to do this?! I–"

"You are laying hands on a superior officer." Yonehara's emotionless voice cut through Imai's tirade, silencing the boy instantly. Imai's grip slackened, eventually letting go of the captain as he stepped back, face burning with anger and shame.

"That will be all, gentlemen. Have a good night."

With that, Yonehara walked away from the crowd and into the bowels of the submarine.

* * *

Watanabe had been woken up by the blaring of the PA system announcing a man overboard. This combined with the rush of activity and his short 3-hour nap meant that he couldn't fall asleep. Meanwhile, the boy on duty had been replaced by Noshima Kuroha, some boy from the torpedo department. He had been awakened by the announcement as well, and was "volunteered" to replace Yahachi at the watch.

Naturally this had irritated the sleepy boy to no end.

"Why the f*** am I doing this?" he moaned. Watanabe had given up on even _trying_ to sleep. With this boy's endless complaining ever since he took the watch, there had been not one moment of silence. And it looked like he was going to start again.

"All I wanted was to get some bloody rest, to hide away with my torpedoes. To even find a girlfriend! But what happens? I get beat by some stupid bitch from Okinawa, and now when I want to sleep it all off like a bad day, you know what?" he barely glanced over his shoulder at Watanabe. The lookout had long since stopped replying to the boy. The boy took another swig of some sugary drink that gave Watanabe an image oddly similar to that of a drunken sailor at a bar.

"I tell you what! I get to hold the balls-to-four watch! After somebody else screws up, I have to clean up their mess! What is the f****** meaning of this–"

 _"_ _help…"_

Noshima paused, turning to try and find the source of the sound through the buzzing in his ears. "What the… I swear I heard something…"

"Maybe you had too much to drink?"

 _"_ _Help me…"_

"No, no, I swear I definitely heard something. Someone's out there!" The boy jumped to his feet, straining to see through the darkness of the harbor. Watanabe watched his movements, before idly deciding to humor the boy and join him as well.

"So what are we looking for–"

"OI! BRING DOWN THE GANGWAY YOU SICK SHITS!"

They spotted the speaker immediately. Running down the pier, with a very dirty orange jacket tied around his waist and a horde of girls chasing after him, was an equally dirty Sakamoto Kuzuki. Clutched in his hands was a hockey stick, which he threw over his shoulder at the oncoming girls. Noshima stared in quiet shock at the surreal sight, his bottle dropped on the ground and spilling its drink everywhere.

 **"** **BRING DOWN THE GANGWAY** **NOSHIMA OR I WILL** ** _ROAST_** **YOUR SORRY LITTLE ASS!"**

That jolted some action into the boy. He dashed over the side of the sail, climbing down the ladder and running to the retractable gangway, opened the gates on the harbor side for Sakamoto to enter from. And enter he did.

Trailing castor oil, gravel and leaves, he dashed over the gangway like his life depended on it. Once he had passed, Noshima slammed the gates shut again and locked them once more, stopping the girls as they piled up against the gangway.

Retreating back to the submarine, Noshima joined his Chief Torpedo Officer as he panted on the deck. The lookout watched them from the sail with curious eyes, already wishing that he had some form of recording device on him.

"You alright, sir?"

"I'm… fine… just… give me a… moment…" wheezed Sakamoto as he tried to take in as much air as he could. Noshima nervously watched him, casting the occasional glance over his shoulder at the girls rattling the bars of the gate. Straightening himself, he took a few more deep breaths before just collapsing on deck.

"Sir!" Noshima rushed to his side. Sakamoto's breathing had evened out, though his eyes were still wide open and shaking as he strained to move.

"Shit. Can't move my legs... How heavy are you, Noshima-san?"

"E-eh? I'm 57kg…"

"Good enough. You know the fireman's lift from Field Camp. Just bring me inside." Sakamoto ordered the boy. Noshima just looked at him, down to his arms and back at him again.

"O-ok… erm… just hang on Sakamoto-san…"

Carefully adjusting his body, Noshima lifted up Sakamoto, heaving him across his shoulders. After a bit of jiggling and adjustments, he began to climb the ladder singlehandedly. He only got up three rungs before coming back down and shrugging Sakamoto off. "Not going to work, sir. How about a piggy back?"

"Yeah, that'll do." With the new adjustment, Noshima set off for the ladder on the side of the sail. With Sakamoto's legs wrapped tightly around his waist and his arms around his neck, Noshima began the climb. This time, he made it almost to the top before he felt Sakamoto sliding off him. Luckily, they were close enough for him to feel hands reaching for and rolling Sakamoto off his shoulders.

Noshima breathed a sigh of relief. That had been _extremely_ dangerous. With Sakamoto on his back like that, sliding would mean an at least 5-10m drop to the deck. That sort of fall breaks bones.

Heaving himself over the top of the sail, he looked up into the face of an emotionless captain.

"Welcome back, sailor." Yonehara intoned, his tone sending shivers down Noshima's spine.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

Interestingly, episode 10 was just a filler episode. Was hoping for more, and yet again it was a nice change of pace. We get the adorable Chief Engineer Maron and her relationship with her First/Assistant Engineer Kuroki. We get more screentime for the secondary characters. We get very interesting backgrounds for our lovely chefs of the Harekaze. And to top it all off, Kuroki gets to vent her frustration on the captain, while simultaneously forgiving/accepting her.

Don't you just love lolis?

We're at the halfway mark now. It will be another estimated 10 chapters to the end, so, I guess its time for me to get back to writing. See you around!


	10. Chapter 8

YGMH Repair Ship _Akashi_

Waves beat against the warm metal hull, gently swaying the ship as it made a decent 14 knots through the Pacific. Several crew members raced to and fro, rigging the ship for landfall even as the speck on the horizon grew ever larger by the minute. A girl in an oversized grey-green winter coat hefted her binoculars up to her face, scanning the surrounding seas for any traffic. Apart from the occasional civilian traffic, the seaways today were rather light.

The usual trading convoys had only made their rounds a week ago, leaving the residents of these far out islands well supplied for the next few months. The captain's middle school friend, captain of the _Mamiya_ , was now taking part in those very same convoys as part of a community outreach programme from Yokosuka Girls Marine High School.

The _Mamiya_ was supposed to be escorting her. That's what soured Sango the most. Just as they were underway, the _Mamiya_ had been updated on a new mission for them, and just like that, the _Akashi_ 's convoy had to be delayed while a replacement supply ship was assigned to her.

What this meant for Sango Sugimoto was that her _Akashi_ had to take on an extra load of ammunition and supplies that the Mamiya was supposed to carry. Trailing behind her ship was the _Irako_ , her replacement food supply ship. What made Sango irritated was not just because her ship had to be laden down with extra things they had no business carrying, what with the poor seakeeping of that ship, they had to effectively escort the _Irako_!

The _Irako_ was a smaller version of the Mamiya, which means with it came less supply capacity and more shore-shuttle trips than Sango was anticipating when working with the Mamiya. To make things worse, the _Irako_ had a shallower draft compared to the _Mamiya_ , as well as a much lower cruising speed. The severe limitations being imposed on her was really too much for Sango to bear with, and was starting to wear on her nerves.

Turning around, she spotted the _Irako_ trailing about 2km behind them. There were two escorting ships, the _Maikaze_ and the _Tanikaze_. The _Maikaze_ took point at the forefront of the convoy while the _Tanikaze_ took the rear end in a loose line ahead formation. They maintained a set distance of 2km from the nearest ship.

Satisfied that the convoy was still intact, she studied her escorting ship. The _Maikaze_ looked no worse for wear, if not for the almost undetectable list to starboard. Even as she watched, something flashed on the bridge of the _Maikaze_. Sango counted the flashes, whispering out loud as she translated the message. "Land… ahead. Dot. Confirm… target… ship… I-201. End message."

Dropping the binoculars, she swiftly moved back up to her bridge, where a communications officer was waiting on standby with the searchlight. On the deck, her Damage Control parties started hauling some floating debris on board. Sango spoke to her Comms officer in a clipped and hurried tone, "Signal: Target ship confirm I-201." The officer nodded, and began flipping the on and off switch on her searchlight. Satisfied that the message was being sent over, Sango mentally composed herself for the next thing on hand.

Dealing with the submarine's crew.

* * *

TBMH Submarine _I-201_

"Hi there." Norita walked into the brig, a small confined space also known as the storeroom or warehouse. His best friend sat there, busy scribbling over his many sheets of papers scattered around. A quick glance told Norita that he was back at it again.

"Hmpf." Yahachi grunted back as he punched a bunch of numbers into a calculator. Carefully stepping through the sea of papers, Norita gently set down the two plates of curry rice on the wooden crate they were using as a makeshift table. Laying out the cutlery, he looked back at his friend, still hunched over his precious papers while he worked at a problem known only to him.

Norita still remembered what had gone down last night. Once the captain had left, the First Engineer turned his fury on his direct superior, Miwa Kenji. He had started shouting at him, unleashing his anger on the Chief Engineer. What shocked Norita was how despite the verbal lashing, the Chief Engineer had just stood there and taken it. When Imai had paused to catch his breath, it took a few moments before Miwa had just broken down and started crying. He fled back to his bunk, leaving a thoroughly surprised Imai and Norita.

Watching the Chief Engineer's retreating back, it took Imai a few moments to gather his wits and just chase after him. This left Norita together with Yahachi and Nakamura in the suddenly quiet hallways of the submarine. Norita looked at Nakamura and mouthed to him, _"I want to talk to you later."_

The boy had just nodded and walked away, leaving Norita feeling more alone than he ever had before.

Now, Yahachi had been placed under guard in the warehouse. Given that there was nothing that he could do, they let him bring in his blueprints and documents to work on, which he took to with gusto. Norita spent his time foregoing his sleep, instead keeping Yahachi company. After several failed attempts to explain his project to Norita, involving something complicated called "lift" and how air pressure can differ simply because of how fast the air flows over differently shaped surfaces, they decided to just leave it at that.

Norita ended up just being a presence in the room, keeping a steady stream of conversation with Yahachi as they caught up with their lives through middle school.

"There was this one time, when the Instructor was trying to pull her speedboat into port, when out of nowhere some mad woman just shot past us on a skipper. Threw water all over us and drenched the maps. We had to spend _soo_ much time trying to dry them out again at the fireplace overnight, 'cause we needed them again the next day. It was one hell of a sleepless night."

"Hah! Oh, on my side, the Instructor took us into the _Katori_ 's engine room. Had us run some standard engine maintenance. All of a sudden, this steam pipe someone was working on just blew a valve, throwing the steam everywhere. The whole place was shut down instantly, everyone evacuated, and the poor sod had to go to hospital for second-degree burns. Best accident ever."

The two boys shared a laugh. Yahachi went back to tinkering with several pieces of wood he had spread out in front of him. Curious, Norita got off the upturned crate he sat on to peek over his shoulder.

"What are you doing?"

"Making a scale model. This is the smallest dimension I can build the glider with to get enough lift with the motors I have." As he spoke, Yahachi heat-sealed the foam body of what he called the fuselage. "I already have the power supplies, a bunch of watch batteries inside. Just need to pray that everything works. Something fails, and I've got to dismantle the whole thing again."

Setting down the candle, Yahachi blew it out before moving over to the next piece. He fitted each individual piece, something that Norita noted that he had been making using some custom moulds and plastic beads. It took him a while before he realised that he was looking at the parts of a motor built into a small conical space.

Once the final gear was in place, the screw shaft firmly secured, and the screw itself on the tip of the cone, Yahachi relighted the candle and began heat-sealing the cone to the fuselage. While Norita called them screws, Yahachi had been rather insistent on calling the little plastic piece a _propeller_.

He had just finished attaching the cone when the door opened, emitting the constantly nervous face of the secretary Kouda Kinzo. He peeked into the room, the one visible eye of his quivering as he took in the carnage that had overcome the warehouse. Documents and papers littered the floor, blueprints of all sorts tacked to the wooden frames of the shelving units, and what appeared to be the parts from some custom engineered Lego set scattered in a halo before Yahachi.

He managed to get his voice out of his throat. "Erm… the captain... would l-like to see you, Hashimoto-san."

Norita's heart sank. "Alright. Give me a moment."

As the secretary watched, Norita got up from his half crouch behind Yahachi, bidding the boy goodbye as he left the room, his own share of lunch still in his hand. Just around the corner was the bridge itself. Shovelling down the last remains of food, he took a swig of water and carefully set aside the empty plate and disposable cup of water.

Steeling himself, Norita entered the bridge.

* * *

 ** _BOOOOWWWW_**

The ships' foghorns sounded as they slid into harbour. Some of the local fishermen had come out in their boats to receive them, to which some of her crew had already begun trade talks with them. Sango wasn't particularly concerned about that. What she was concerned with was the suspicious line handlers on the piers. She never trusted them to not scratch up her ship some way or another, which meant that she had to go down to the deck to observe them at work.

Her crew tossed the mooring lines across to the line handlers on shore, who began tying them up along the shore. A tugboat helped to nudge them gently – as gently as _controlled ramming_ could ever be – and within moments, her helmsman gave the order for the engines to be cut.

Limping in at the rear end of the convoy was the _Maikaze_. The ship arrived right after her, sidling into the empty pier just ahead of the _Akashi_.

Nodding appreciatively to her crew, Sango made her way over the gangway to visit the harbourmaster. Her accounting officer following along behind her. As she walked in, Sango noticed the other military vessel in port. It had a rather strange design, being long and sleek and slim, with no superstructure save the one massive sail on its deck. What stood out the most was its tumblehome design and the massive symbol of Toumai Boys Marine High School painted on the side of the tower.

It could only mean one thing.

She was looking at the submarine I-201 while it was surfaced. The utter _strangeness_ of it gave her the creeps. Her accounting officer looked in the same direction as Sango and visibly shuddered. "Hey Taichou, sure looks creepy, huh?"

"Mm…"

* * *

Norita stood to attention, raising his hand to his forehead in salute as he called out, "Assistant Navigation Officer, Hashimoto Norita, reporting!"

Across the room, the Captain sat behind his table as he raised an eyebrow at Norita's performance. He was flanked by the Deputy Captain and the Chief Engineer, Nakamura and Miwa. All three of them looked like they had gotten not a wink of sleep since last night.

"At ease, sailor."

Norita dropped his hand, reverting to a parade-rest posture. The Captain now leaned over his table, his hands forming a steeple as he looked at Norita through half-lidded eyes. "I trust you know why you are here?"

"No, sir."

The Captain now scrutinised Norita even further. "Very well. We can begin. Gentlemen, please gather closer." Norita hesitated for a moment, before rapidly walking over to the table. The other two boys also moved away from the captain to surround the table.

 _And to flank_ me _._

"So, Hashimoto-san. How good are you at keeping secrets?"

Norita's mind blanked. He remained silent.

"I shall take that as a yes. What you are about to see and hear is of the strictest importance and confidentiality. None of this information shall leave these four walls. If you are discovered to have leaked even the slightest bit of intel through any means whatsoever, the reprisals _will_ be harsh. Am I clear?"

Norita nodded. At the Captain's insistent gaze, Norita forced his voice to work. "Crystal clear, sir."

"Good. Nakamura-san, if you would." The boy in question stepped forward, flicking a switch on the device sitting on the table. A light from the device turned on, lighting up a small square of plastic on the clear top of the box-like device. With a start, Norita realised he was looking at an OHP, an Overhead Projector.

The light was cast onto a folding arm that Nakamura now snapped into place. With a few adjustments, he had the arm lowered to focus only on the plastic square. The light was focused through a lens in the arm, reflecting off a mirror and onto a sheet of paper attached to a movable board.

The number of names sent chills down his spine.

* * *

Sango departed the harbourmaster's office, her accounting officer trailing behind her once more while she worriedly counted their remaining money. The wind was starting to pick up again, and while it was still springtime, the strong winds the _Akashi_ faced out at sea meant that she went everywhere with her massive grey winter coat just to keep warm. Sango still couldn't figure out how her friend Yui managed to walk around dressed in just the standard school uniform, what with it being so _breezy_ and all.

A message had been sent to her crew that the non-essential personnel were allowed to roam the island. Meanwhile the others would be helping in moving the ship over to the I-201 to start repair works. Sango could see from here some of the crew, namely the cooks, purchasing several baskets of crabs from the fishermen. Most likely for dinner tonight. Just the thought of eating crab caused her mouth to water slightly in anticipation.

She had to forego lunch so far, given the massive amount of work she had to deal with in the past few days. They had gotten in an accident involving a submarine that they had nearly run over on their travels. The _Akashi_ had managed to steer clear, though it was the _Maikaze_ , her escort, that took the hit.

The submarine had been surfaced at the time, recharging batteries. The noise from the diesels had limited the submarine's sonar capabilities. While the submarine's lookout on board did spot the oncoming convoy, and the _Maikaze_ had indeed detected the flooding noises of the ballast, given that the diesels had to be shut down first before they could dive, amongst other things on the diving checklist, the submarine could not dive fast enough to escape the _Maikaze_ completely. The _Maikaze_ itself had spotted the foam on the surface when the ballast tanks had been flooded and assumed the submarine had gotten clear. What the captain had not realised was that the submarine was not deep enough to avoid the bow of her ship just below the waterline.

The resulting collision had damaged the keel of the _Maikaze_ , tearing a shallow gash into her bow. The other ships of the convoy scattered and stopped in their tracks, while the _Akashi_ went over to send help and damage control. The worst hit of all the parties involved was the submarine itself. The force of the impact had caused the submarine to sort of _roll_ an almost perfect 90 degrees. What came as a massive stroke of luck was that the _Maikaze_ had only hit the stern of the submarine, disabling just the screws, the rudder, the stabiliser fins...

While there _was_ shock damage, the flooding in the submarine was containable, and they managed a successful resurfacing that took up all their reserve air. As such, the convoy was delayed several hours to repair both vessels. The entire event had eaten up so much of her time that Sango had been running on a full three days with no sleep. The surly and untrusting crew of the I-6 had been extremely unwilling to allow Sango's engineers on board, to the point where she had to actually go over and threaten to leave them with a leaking and sinking submarine. Only then did they allow them access.

The girls came back reporting that the submarine stank to high heaven, that the interiors were cramped beyond belief, and that someone had given her number away to one of the submariners. A routine job well done, if not for how some of the girls noticed that when the submarine's crew were not fighting the flooding, they were actively cordoning off certain sections of the submarine.

While they _do_ need to hide some of their secrets, that much Sango understood, this almost seemed to be taking it too far.

 _Ah well,_ Sango had brushed it off. _It's not like it's my problem anyway._

Boarding the ship, Sango gave new orders for the ship to change berths. The remaining crew responded well enough, though slightly disgruntled at having to continue working while some of them got to have shore leave early. With the mooring lines cast off, the _Akashi_ began to carefully move around the harbour via tugboat. Settling to a stop beside the I-201, the anchor was dropped and boarding ramps prepared.

As per her recent experiences, the captain was supposed to board as well and request permission from the submarine's captain for them to carry out their work. The boarding ladder was dropped to the submarine's deck with a sharp _clang_. Sango walked over, only to be halted by a voice calling from above her.

"Hey there! You from the _Akashi_?" It was a rather lanky boy, dressed in a green windbreaker with a noticeable bulge in the left jacket pocket. And he had acne.

Sango repressed a mental shudder. At least the girls bothered to keep themselves clean. As for the boys… well, good thing she never really needed to ever actually go inside the submarine. She had to conduct repairs of submarines a grand total of three times, including this afternoon's incident. None of them had needed her to enter the things for long, if at all.

Just by standing so close to the submarine, she had a rather nauseating feeling coming from it. Something this _unnatural_ had no business being tied up next to her precious _Akashi_.

"Yes! I'm Sango Sugimoto, second year captain of the repair ship _Akashi_. Requesting permission to board your submarine, skipper."

The boy seemed to blush slightly. "Uh… I'm not the skipper here. Just the watchman. Hang on a moment, I'll get the captain for you." With that, he retreated over the edge of the tower, hidden from her view. Shrugging, Sango waited while her engineers started chatting amongst themselves on the _Akashi_.

The boy popped up again. "The captain is in the middle of an important strategy meeting with his officers. He requests fifteen minutes for them to finish up, then you can come in. Is it fine?"

Sango really wanted to bang her head against something. "Is there another way in?"

"Apart from the supply hatch! Any person entering the sub will have to pass through the hatch up here, which will pass through the bridge where the officers are having their briefing. You can board the submarine, load your equipment, whatever. The captain's got no issues with that. Just don't come in."

Sango looked around herself, across the bridge at her engineers waiting for further orders, and back up at the watchman. "Very well! Fifteen minutes, you say?"

"Yes. Fifteen minutes."

"Girls, come on over!"

With relieved sighs, the engineers began crossing, bringing over the tools that would be needing. A report from the I-201's chief engineer specified that a fire had destroyed one engine and motor block, with another damaged motor having been repaired from the remains of the first destroyed motor. The remaining equipment were all fine, having suffered nothing more than some scratch damage from the soot, smoke and heat. On the _Akashi_ , one of her massive cranes got to work, lifting out of her hold the replacement engine and motor blocks. While they waited, her girls might as well be productive.

* * *

"What the f***!?"

"Exactly, Nishina-san. That was my reaction as well when I saw it myself, but it's true." Norita spoke as he comfortingly rested his hand on his superior's shoulder. The boy in question sagged in his chair, like he had just been told that he had been walking around with a dozen hitmen aiming for him.

"Then… does this mean those things are still here? Still… in here?" He shakily brought his hand up, to lightly poke the side of his head. He had just been discharged by the corpsman, who deemed that there had been a strain of an unknown virus running through his body. While the virus was dead, Kaburagi Ichiro had been able to isolate a few of the dead cells before the body destroyed them all.

"Not anymore," the doctor said from across the room. "Whatever it was, it seems something caused a sudden spontaneous wipe out of the virus in your body. Given the information in the report our friends sent us, this was just stage 1 of the virus. They still don't know why it works like this, but here is what we have gathered so far."

The doctor walked to the front of the screen, wordlessly taking the pointer stick from the Captain. "The virus has three stages. The first stage is when the victim is first infected. The virus lingers for something between a few hours to a few days, documented as 12 hours to two and a half days." he gestured to the words projected on the screen.

"The second stage occurs after that. It has mutated into a more permanent form. While some antibiotics seem to have a mild effect on the strain, nothing is able to do much to it before the thing adapts and resists _that_ antibiotic. This stage lasts roughly 2 to 12 days. After that, it mutates into the third stage." Nakamura wordlessly adjusted the lens so they could see the lower portion of the magnified image on the microfilm Sakamoto had brought back.

"The third stage is completely invulnerable. Nothing is able to budge it, nothing is able to counter it, and the victim would have to be either locked up in a containment ward or mercy killed." While the others took in the information, Nishina just got even paler.

"The good news for our good friend Nishina-san is that he was infected for something between the range of 3 to 8 hours before he went swimming and snapped out of it. This is well within the timeframe of the stage one virus, so rest assured, you won't be contracting some bloody _'Totalitarianism Disease'_ that no one's ever heard of before."

The doctor took a step back, letting the captain continue his briefing.

"Ok, since we have that settled, on to bigger things. There is a massive fleet exercise happening off the coast of Nishinoshima, the volcanic island that the lookout may or may not have spotted on our way here. There will be submarines there, were we will be conducting underwater battle drills and simulations. The Blue Mermaids may or may not be joining in to act as a surface fleet for us to work together against."

Tanabe Sato, the Chief Sonar Operator, had been so quiet that Norita had almost forgotten that he existed in the room. He now raised his hand. Seeing this, the captain gestured over to him with the pointer. "Yes?"

"Alright, captain. What's really happening?"

A nervous chuckle flitted around the room. The captain just smiled as he nodded to Nakamura. The Deputy adjusted the lens again.

A massive battlelist of all the submarines expected to join in the exercise was shown on screen. Above this was a map of the area, showing the estimated underwater situation and the locations of where any oppositions may be coming from. The estimated battle area covered a 200 nautical mile radius from the midpoint between the Ogasawara island chain and the Nishinoshima. Several markings scribbled on the map seemed to indicate notable locations and coordinates.

"What we are going to do, is to sink this bastard of a floating lab." He gestured to the map and the marking indicating the last known location of the YA-93. "We have two live torpedoes, and our list of instructions. The goal is to, with the assistance of the fleet, put a bunch of holes into that ship and have it sink, where no one can get to the RATts within." Approving looks were passed around the table.

Sakamoto raised his hand. "Taichou?"

"Yes, Sakamoto-san?"

"What about the crew?" Quite a number of smiling faces sank as they realised what this meant. "I mean, Taichou, if we are to attack the YA-93, then won't we be committing murder?"

The captain bowed his head in thought. Other bridge members nervously cast looks around the room, with the exception of Norita and Nakamura. The two boys just looked straight ahead, though Nakamura's knuckles were whiter than before as he held onto the projector.

"Good question, Sakamoto-san. In dealing with the crew, we will have live rounds loaded in our 25mm deck guns. Our allies will have several lifeboats prepared for the YA-93, so they can choose to either get in or go down with their ship. Anyway, our allies have managed to gather some small arms for us, for our own self defence as well as if we need to coerce them."

The mutterings in the room ceased, though the captain's words failed to stop the general feeling of a terrible mistake waiting to happen.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

 **To KodokSangar: Thank you for reviewing. I'll PM you on the rest of your questions. And thank you again for that.**

 **Well, we'll be coming to the end of the Ogasawara Islands phase soon, I promise! To be honest, I didn't know exactly when I should be expositing the battle plans: when they actually get there or when they are still on shore. I needed to really push things along though, so I decided to get this out of the way. The Admiral of the Coalition will get some screentime as well.**

 **For the curious, the I-6 suffered a series of interesting mishaps in its operational life.**

 ** **1 August 1935:  
**** ** **Off Ise Bay. At 1427, during joint maneuvers, submerged I-6 collides with destroyer AKATSUKI, damaging her periscopes. Departs the area for Yokosuka for repairs.****

 ** **25 February 1942:  
W of Timor. At 1230 (JST), when running on the surface, I-5 and later I-6 are spotted by a Mitsubishi C5M Type 98 "Babs", escorted by nine A6M Zeke fighters from the 3rd NAG Ambon detachment. Misidentifying both subs as Dutch, the fighters repeatedly strafe them. I-6 is forced underwater, but receives no damage.****

 ** ** **16 June 1944:  
I-6 departs Yokosuka for Saipan.******

 ** ** **NE of Hachijo-Shima. The 5,123-ton freighter TOYOKAWA MARU (ex-BANGOR), chartered from Matsuoka Kisen Line of Kyoto, departed Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands on 14 June en route to Yokosuka in convoy No. 3606, comprising four marus, kaibokans AMAKUSA, NOMI, OKI and converted subchaser SHOWA MARU No. 7.******

 ** ** **At 2233, TOYOKAWA MARU sights a submarine surfacing near the convoy. A submarine alert is given. TOYOKAWA MARU makes a sharp turn and rams the submarine's starboard side slightly abaft the conning tower. The submarine takes on a heavy list, turns turtle and sinks in a few minutes. TOYOKAWA MARU opens fire with machine guns and drops some depth charges. There are no survivors of I-6's crew of 104.******

 ** ** **The sub had a very unlucky life in the war, being attacked by friendly fire. While she was also the one to score the torpedo hits on USS _SARATOGA_ , she was also subject to three friendly fire incidents. The last one is hilariously epic. A freighter tries to defend its convoy by ramming a friendly submarine! A noble sacrifice, but an extremely stupid one at that.******

 **I always strive to include references throughout my story, be it real life or other media. Try to spot them all :)**

.

This information was taken from combinedfleet. com


	11. Chapter 9

**Before we begin, we shall have a Disclaimer.**  


 **Three new characters are joining us today. They do not belong to me. They belong to the wonderful author hereLiesThisTroper**

* * *

TBMH Submarine _I-201_

Her experienced engineers had done a quick job, cutting apart the engine block and carrying it down piece by piece. The submariners didn't trust her crew members to patch back together the pressure hull as it was, so the captain had formally requested they avoid cutting open the hull. After some serious discussions with the captain, with the Chief Engineers on both sides joining in, it was eventually agreed that they would bring in the engine in parts.

Naturally, this cost them time, something which Sango had very little of. Her engineers took pride in their ability to get things done much faster than expected by the power of teamwork and great expertise. Right now, she expected the repair work to last 24 hours instead of by sunset.

That irritated her a lot.

About a quarter of the way into the work, she gave the command over to her chief engineer, while she went off for a break. As it was, she now sat in a little boat while the fisherman took her on a trip to sight see around the Chichijima island where the ships were now docked. Just as they were leaving port, another person, one that she recognised as the Deputy of the I-201, boarded the boat. Having paid the fisherman, he took a seat that _just so happened_ to be right next to her.

While Sango scooted a few centimetres to her left and away from him, he just seemed to ignore her actions. Instead, he just slumped in his seat, like all the air was blown out of him in one move as he relaxed himself completely. As they moved off, Sango noticed how he took in a massive breath of fish guts, gasoline and sea air and held it in for as long as he could before releasing it again.

While her companion kept repeating his deep breathing, Sango tried to ignore him as she looked out over the side. The scenery was particularly nice, with the lush greenery along the coast. Off in the distance, a green mountain rose, as if reaching out towards the heavens, a representation of all that is natural and holy.

A very big contrast to the boy sitting on her right, who was now leaning over the edge while he stared into the crystal clear waters.

"So… clear…" he whispered, watching his hand though the water carving his own wake.

Sango tuned him out again, spotting some of her fellow crew members also having hired some other fishermen to take them to sea. They waved over at her, and without thinking, Sango waved back.

Their high pitched screaming carried over to her, and while she couldn't hear the exact words, she had a very good feeling as to what it was about. Blushing, Sango shot them a dirty look as she turned away from them in a huff.

Only to find herself staring into the boy's chest as he stood over her. With a startled squeak, Sango jumped back and almost into the water. He was wearing a black shirt with a blue silhouette of a bird in flight, with a blue circle around it in the background. An "IONA" was emblazoned beneath it in blue.

He leaned over her, balancing on the balls of his feet as the boat rocked through the surf. With a hand shielding his eyes, he looked out to shore, striking a rather picturesque pose. It took another 10 seconds before he looked down at Sango and asked, "Going to take a picture?"

She punched him. Hard.

He fell to the floor, grasping his stomach in pain. "Oh gods I'm so sorry!" Reaching down, Sango attempted to help him up, but was nearly pulled onto him in exchange. Narrowing her eyebrows, she heaved him back to the bench. He now smelt worse, the submarine-stink on his clothes mixing with the smell of fish guts really turning her off. Even as her nose scrunched up to try and block the smell, he seemed unperturbed except for his now wet clothes.

"Urgh… I'm gonna need to wash this _again_." He plucked at the wet patches on the shirt. "Was my favourite pair too…"

Sango rolled her eyes. "I'd offer to wash them for you, seeing how this was sort of my fault," here she rolled her eyes as she pulled the great coat up to cover her nose. "But really, who taught you to try and flirt with girls like that?!"

The boy visibly deflated. "Wha-what… b-but… you… how did you find out?"

Sango's eyes narrowed further. "I've had experience."

"Ah… my bad, sorry."

The two looked at each other for a few more moments, before being broken by Sango rapidly turning away in a huff. With her coat still held up to her cheeks, she faced away from him, hiding her blushing cheeks.

"So… it's been nice meeting you, Sango-san."

She stiffened. _How did he know her name?_

"Thank you. I believe I haven't had the pleasure of knowing your name…?"

"Oh! Sorry about that." She heard him squirming in his seat. She turned around and looked him in the eye, even as he raised his hand for her to shake. "The name's Nakamura, Nakamura Mitsumi."

She grasped his offered hand, giving it a firm shake. "It's a pleasure meeting you, Nakamura-san"

* * *

"Argh!" Imai Tadashige sat in the mess hall, poking at his tray of… even calling the thing before him _food_ was questionable. Opposite him, an annoying member of the Torpedo officers sat at the table. The boy was animatedly chugging his 1.5 litre bottle of bug juice and speaking to Imai at the same time. In fact, the boy had been doing this for the past fifteen minutes, repeating himself every five minutes or so as he told his story.

"So! Sonar finds target! We get bearings, we calculate, we shoot! Fish in the water! Next thing, the target shrinks! Turns through the torpedoes, starts charging for us. We reload, fire again. The thing dodges again! We stay there, waiting for sonar update when suddenly, screaming!" At that word, he flung his arms into the air, nearly spilling his drink over the people in the table next to him.

"Next thing we know, the entire submarine _flips_! Everything starts flying everywhere, someone's boot was in my mouth–"

"That's mine if you don't shut up!" someone shouted from across the room. The boy ignored them and went on.

"And then! Water! Water everywhere!" Another swig from his bottle. "We start swimming, start looking for escape hatch. People start climbing out in exposure suits. I got into mine when the room tilts _again_! I panicked, of course. Like the other two guys with me. And then the buzzer goes off, the room drains and the training room goes back up to the surface. Like, a simulator in the middle of the school's swimming pool. Can you believe it?"

Imai rolled his eyes. They all came from the same school. Everyone had gone through the survival course, of course they would know what he was talking about.

"And then, today on the news, the exact same thing happened!"

"What thing happened?"

The boy stopped in his talking to look at the new speaker. A girl, dressed in an orange jumpsuit stood in the doorway, lightly tapping her monkey wrench against her pants leg. The top half of her jumpsuit had been rolled down, so as to tie it around her waist, revealing her white, sweat-soaked sweatshirt. Her skin was a chocolatey tanned brown, something he would willingly get his hands on at any time of the day.

Imai slapped himself immediately. If the girl was surprised at his actions, she didn't show it. Walking into the mess hall, she stood next to their table, looming over the Torpedo officer while tapping the wrench against her leg. "Well?"

The poor boy looked like he didn't know whether he wanted to faint from her sheer beauty or from the threatening shadow she was casting on him. A random thought came to his mind, that a monkey wrench tended to weigh something around a kilo. For her to be swinging it like that, like it was nothing more than a twig…

He shrank back on himself into the chair, stammering as she loomed over him. Imai decided to save the boy's ass.

"What he's referring to, is the news report that we received just this morning. Another submarine, the _Kuroshio_ , was sunk a few days ago. Prelim reports said that it was most likely caused by ramming a whale while they were travelling at 20 knots. Given the mass of that submarine, and they were going so fast, meant they had a lot of energy stored as momentum. When they hit the whale, the impact tore a hole in the pressure hull, sinking the sub."

The girl looked at Imai, relaxing her intimidating appearance while he talked. "All but three of the class managed to escape the submarine. The three who went down were torpedo men, which is why our friend over there," he referred to the squeaking torpedo officer seated opposite him, "was talking so much about his own training simulation. Apparently he went through the same thing before, and was rather freaked out about how something like this happened again."

The girl looked at Imai, then back at the quivering wreck, and back to Imai again. "Alright, thanks."

"My pleasure, miss…"

"Just call me Hoshino. I'm the Engineer of the Repair Ship _Akashi_ "

"Very well, Hoshino-san. I'm Imai Tadashige, First Engineer of the Submarine _I-201_. I hope you don't mind filling me in on how the repairs are coming along?"

"Ah well… most of the parts have arrived, and we're beginning the assembly stage now…" As the two walked out of the room, the boys in the mess hall released a collective sigh of relief. That girl was insanely strong. If all their engineers were like that…

* * *

"Ah~ That really hits the spot…" Norita sighed in bliss, downing his fourth cup of English Breakfast tea. The burning from the drink seemed to ignite a furnace in his stomach, spreading the warmth around his body. Next to him, his superior officer Nishina attacked his breakfast platter. Opposite them were their Navigational counterparts from the Akashi. Their Assistant Navigator was a short quiet girl with a flowery hairband in her hair with some name Norita had already forgotten. Their Navigator was similarly quiet, never saying anything more than what was necessary.

Apparently, the captain had decided that it would be good for Nishina to get off the ship, and the _Akashi_ needed to give their non-essential personnel shore leave. Their solution was to make sailors from both ships spend time with their counterparts. Any attempts to protest were overridden when Yonehara produced an envelope full of all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet vouchers.

That's why the four Navigators were seated awkwardly in a booth at some classy breakfast joint, with the other patrons noisily talking away. The secretaries were occupied at the bar, with Kouda talking more animatedly than Norita had ever seen before. In fact, apart from just before that meeting with the captain, he had never seen Kouda Kinzo speak at all. The Logistics crew had taken to a drinking competition, where both sides competed to see how many glasses of punch they could down before someone had to go.

As for the Navigators, it was just awkward silence. Having been separated from girls for the vast majority of his life, Norita had very little information to fall back on and he suspected everyone seated at the table felt the same way. There _was_ a reason why they were all in Navigation, after all.

"So… enjoy your tea?" That was from headband-girl. When Norita looked up at her, she seemed to blush and lowered her eyes in embarrassment.

"Sure, since I'm not affected by tea's effects, I can afford to drink and still go to sleep. That and my family had a rather… strong liking for this type of tea, so I picked up the habit from them." Norita explained, trying for a gentle smile even as his turbines raced at 600rpm. He was doing it! He was talking to a girl!

"Oh? That's nice. I wish I had something like that as well, since this tea _is_ really nice. If I drink more than a cup, I couldn't sleep for the rest of the night. My family prefers drinking green tea, though my papa would drink coffee on a daily basis. He always adds salt to his coffee. This one time, he offered me a sip when I was eight. When I took a sip, I spat the thing all over his shirt! It was so funny, both his and mama's reactions."

 _Yes! She actually replied me!_ Mentally composing himself, Norita continued. "Well, my father is a submariner. I saw him coming in once, and that was why I decided to join the Marine Schools. Because I wanted to be just like him!" Norita smiled, recalling that moment when he stood on the docks, watching the surfacing _USS Pogy_.

" _Sugoi_... your father sounds like a really cool guy. I wonder if I could meet him…" The girl smiled at Norita, and he felt something else stirring. Something cold was coiling in his heart. Trying to hide the sudden flash of emotions, Norita tried to steer the conversation back to safer grounds.

"So, what's it like living on a surface ship?"

While the girl talked away, Norita put on his mask, nodding along at appropriate points in her conversation and offering his own opinions every now and then. He idly noticed Nishina striking up a conversation with his own counterpart. He noticed the Logistics boy snorting fruit juice through his nose as he choked on what appeared to be his fifteenth cup. He noticed the secretary Kouda Kinzo looking at the same boy worriedly and keeping up his own conversation with the _Akashi_ 's secretary.

He noticed how the bartender the two secretaries sat in front of was looking in his direction while he polished his glasses. He noticed how the other patrons were slowly turning their heads to look at him, some of them doing the impossible SHAFT head tilt just to get an eye on his sweating face. Now the Logistics people were looking at him as well, one of them with tea still dribbling down his nose. His surroundings seemed to be getting darker as well, the atmosphere becoming... _greyer_ by the second. He couldn't take it anymore.

"Sorry, but I need to use the bathroom." Hurriedly excusing himself, Norita rose from his seat. Upon entering the bathroom, there was barely enough time for him to get to the sink before the disorienting greyscale overtook him. Opening the tap, he splashed handfuls of water on his face. Gradually, the colour receded back into the world, pushing away the unhealthy greyness that had settled down on him.

He raised his head to look himself in the mirror. His eyes were bloodshot, his face haggard. Eye bags he never noticed before were now more prominent, seeming to jump out at him from his reflection. Norita poked himself in the cheek, feeling his clammy skin.

 _Why is this happening to me.._ _._

* * *

Yahachi continued his work throughout the proceedings. There had been a foghorn blowing at around 8.30 in the morning, after which there was a lot of banging noises as people frantically ran all over the sub for the next few hours. The foam model was ready and prepared when the door opened. Some short, pasty faced boy stuck his head in, wordlessly asking Yahachi a question.

"Yup! It's ready. You know what to do?"

The boy nodded.

"Good. Off you go." Yahachi handed the boy the scale model aircraft, as well as the document tube. Once he had left, Yahachi leaned against the stacks of crates, eyeing the meal left out for him. Crawling over, he ate his fill before knocking on the door. A guard opened it and took the empty tray from him. During his brief peek outside, Yahachi spotted another person walking down the hallway with the First Engineer in tow. All he managed to see of the newcomer was their orange jumpsuit and white singlet before the door was shut on him.

Resting against the crates, he popped open the lid to survey the 12 or so self-inflating drones. Nestled underneath them, a green painted piece of metal peeked back at him.

* * *

"Ahhhh… nice to see you too, shipmate."

"Shut up."

Watching her fellow classmate pacing the bridge, the red head shrugged. "Ya know, there must be a reason why you're still here. There's no need for the XO to accompany me..."

"Shut up!"

"Or perhaps it's because of yesterday's incident? Don't worry, I'm taking the blame for that one, totally not your fault at all~"

The red head ducked as the XO hurled a fist at her, which she countered by giving the girl a firm tap to her chest. "That's not it!"

This only caused the other girl to continue jumping to conclusions. All of a sudden, her eyes lit up. "Don't tell me… that boy you talked to… hasn't replied yet?"

Seeing her friend's flaming red face, she started laughing. "Oh my gods! Really? Really?! The great Mitsuki Watari, Miss 'Perfect student', is _hung up on a boy?!_ "

"AHH!" The girl lunged at her friend, as their conversation dissolved into a full blown catfight.

From the doorway, another girl watched them, letting her little secretary's tablet do all the talking for her.

* * *

"Hello, anybody there? I'm coming in…" The toilet door creaked open, admitting Nishina's head. Scanning the room, he quickly caught sight of his friend's back. He breathed a sigh of relief. "Hey Hashimoto-san, you left a wonderful girl waiting. Isn't it about time to come back… out… oh my what happened to you?"

Nishina walked further into the toilet and saw for the first time a completely different side to his Assistant Navigator. The boy was hunched over the sink, his teeth clenched as he wheezed. His left hand grasping his left hip painfully, if the shaking of his eyes were anything to go by. His right hand grabbed onto his left arm, the fingernails digging into the skin as it drew blood.

As he entered, Norita turned his head to look at him. Despite the extreme weirdness he was seeing, Nishina could almost feel an amount of… sadness coming from him. Sadness and fear. He could see it in his eyes, the fear that Norita had been hiding from him.

 _For how long?_

In an instant, Norita released himself. He staggered away from the sink to face Nishina. "H-hello, Nishina-san."

Nishina walked further into the toilet. He stopped just in front of Norita. "What's going on?"

Norita's eyes flickered back and forth from Nishina to the door and back to him again. "I-it's nothing really–"

"Bullshit."

Norita's eyes widened at Nishina's sudden expletive. It was the first time ever did he hear his superior throw a vulgarity at anybody. "What are y-you talking abo–"

"Bullshit. I walk in here, and see you acting like Stein. What the hell were you doing?" Nishina suddenly lunged forwards, grabbing Norita's left arm. "Look at this! If you had a knife, what would you have done?!" Scattered among the five red crescent moon marks along his arm, were little white marks of similar shape and size. All of them scars. All of them accompanied by bite marks and long jagged lines.

"What's going on, Norita?" He whispered, drooping his head. Norita's eyes started to tear.

"I–"

"Was it something I did, something I missed? Was it from before we even met? **What have you been doing to yourself?!** "

"Nishina-san…"

The Navigator took another step forwards. He released Norita's arm to envelop him in a hug. "I don't know what's the cause of this, but for god's sake please stop. You've got to have people you can talk to about this, don't you?"

"Nishina-san…"

That was when the waterworks started. Despite his increasingly wet shirt, Nishina said nothing, but held the boy even tighter in his arms.

* * *

"Well, it has been a pleasure, Sango-san," said Nakamura. He alighted the boat first, turning to help Sango Sugimoto back on land. Her response was to ignore his hand and leap from the boat to the pier. She took his hand and shook it. The setting sun was just to her left, as it went down behind the mountain that overlooked the harbour.

"Likewise, Naka-chan"

"Please don't call me that!"

Sango giggled. "Well, you did have fun didn't you? We went on a trip around the island, we got to see the little fishies in shallow waters, and you even got me this!" Spinning on the spot, Sango pulled from inside her winter jacket a Yotarou plushie. The smile on her face was simply heartmelting.

"Of course. Do you like it?" She nodded firmly, an adorable blush lighting up her cheeks. Nakamura decided not to tell her that anyone from the ships could see her. "Well, then, it has been nice knowing you, Sango-san."

"I've told you, stop calling me that, _Naka-chan~_ "

"Gah! Fine, Sugimoto. Happy?"

"Very!"

On the deck of the _Akashi_ , the _Tanikaze_ 's secretary Sanae Shimizu snapped away with her secretary's tablet, a wide contented smile on her face. _The captain sure is behaving really differently today…_

* * *

"Here's your repair log, captain." Sango pulled from her winter jacket a thumbdrive, one of those cheap 500 yen thumbdrives her secretary bought in bulk every time they made port. It was a sleek black colour, with a total storage space of 8Mb.

"Thank you, captain." Yonehara accepted it, handing the thumbdrive over to his secretary for safekeeping. "I wish you all the best in your travels, Captain Sango Sugimoto." They shook hands.

"As a token of our goodwill, we formally invite your crew to a dinner party on board the _Akashi_. Do you accept?"

Yonehara thought the offer over. "Afraid not. We have another mission to handle that needs to be completed as soon as possible. But in exchange, we would like to present you with a token of our appreciation."

Nakamura stepped forwards from behind the captain and handed over a black paper bag. Yonehara then presented it to Sango.

Inside it was a scale model of the _Akashi_ , made out of matchsticks.

"Captain... thank you for your gift." Sango took a step back and saluted, paper bag by her side. Yonehara did likewise. They held it long enough for the secretaries to take their pictures, before finally making an about face and walking off the boarding ramp.

The lookout officer opened the gate, letting his captain back into the submarine. Just before he went stepped off, he paused for a parting message. "It has been a pleasure working with you, Sango-san."

Her girls began hauling the ramp back onto the _Akashi_.

* * *

 _"The SHIP is UN-der-WAY!"_

The submarine was bustling with activity. A few boys still stood watch outside, waving to the girls on the convoy. The four ships, the _Maikaze_ , the _Akashi_ , the _Tanikaze_ , and the _Irako_ , had all their crew on deck salute the submarine while it pulled out. Foghorns from all docked ships bellowed as the girls cheered the boys on. On the sail, the lookout Watanabe smiled as he waved. His arm was growing tired but he didn't care. One of the girls, a fiery red head from the _Maikaze_ , had actually _talked_ to him. He could see her now, waving from her lighted bridge.

Inside the submarine, Nishina held the wheel as he made gentle course adjustments. The _I-201_ was finally underway at long last.

 _"Increase power to fifteen percent on the diesels."_

From the store room, Yahachi looked up and smiled. In his hands, was a little white cage. Hermetically sealed, inside it sat a little white rat, innocently cocking its head here and there at all the unfamiliar electromagnetic waves it was sensing. Above the submarine, a little foam-and-wood plane flew it's pre-programed course to the VERA satellite observatory on Mount Asahiyama. Secured to it's belly was a little microSD card, attached firmly in place via lots of duct tape.

 _"Sounding under the keel 20m. Dropping now to 50m and holding."_

Nishina gave the command.

 _"Rig for dive. Switch to electric drive."_

The mighty motors, each giving a rating of 5000 horsepower, hummed in the rapidly quieting engine room. As the diesels shut off, Norita called to his superior, "All clear on the straightboard!"

 _"All hands, prepare for dive!"_

The _I-201_ slowly sank beneath the waves, vanishing from sight.

* * *

Standing inside the bridge of the _Akashi_ , out of view of the departing submarine, was a certain black-caped female. Mafuyu lifted her head to watch them leave, satisfied that the watch crew were unable to see her. As the boys retreated into the _I-201_ , Mafuyu walked towards the captain of the ship.

"Sugimoto-san, did you install the package?"

Sango Sugimoto, Captain of the _Akashi_ , never lifted her eyes from the slowly fading wake of the diving submarine. "Yes, Munetani-san. The package is installed."

None of them paid any attention to the slight buzzing noise coming from overhead as it slowly faded into the night.

* * *

 **Author's notes**

Thank you for coming. I'm really sorry for this late submission, but well... stuff happened. That and my studies are resuming next week, so this is my last chance to publish before I need to go offline. I may be able to post one last chapter on Sunday, but don't count on it.

I would like to introduce another FanFiction writer, **hereLiesThisTroper**. His work **Girls und Warships** is based on the Girls und Panzer universe and is extremely similar in concept to Haifuri itself. Girls piloting ships.

It is from his work that I have borrowed three characters, Mitsuki Watari, Shizuka Yamashita and Sanae Shimizu. All credits for these three characters go to him.

In other news, we have finally left the Ogasawara Islands. Onwards, to adventures in the big blue ocean!


	12. Chapter 10

"Ugh…"

"Bucket's that way."

Not a moment too soon. The green faced Chief Engineer made a dash for the similarly green bucket, hurling what sad remains of his breakfast into it. Imai just groaned, hanging onto the grab bars as the sub lurched through another massive wave. Everything seemed to jump, hanging in midair for a brief moment before gravity took over, dropping everything back to the deck. This made for a series of weightlessness as everything entered freefall for those few moments.

The I-201 had been riding the waves for the past two hours. Right after they left port, they resurfaced roughly 30km from shore, where the girls could not see them. They had proceeded on their journey on the surface at 14 knots, cruising straight ahead on a course of 283 degrees. The submarine was scheduled to take part in an ASW exercise with the Blue Mermaids and the rest of the Toumai Boys Marine High School fleet.

At least, that's what was broadcast over the PA. Right after that announcement, the submarine had run into a low-pressure system. It had been two hours since then, with something akin to 30 foot waves smashing against the sail and drenching Watanabe Ichiro.

He had taken to lashing himself to the safety rails on the sail, as wave after wave crashed into him, throwing him around like a ragdoll. Having slammed back against the rails for the thirtieth time, Watanabe had it. He grabbed the waterproof sound pipes.

 _"Captain! We are seeing some dangerous thirty foot waves coming in from the port side. Been thrown around for the past half an hour captain, we need to get this ship down now or something's going to be torn loose."_

Yonehara looked around the bridge. Norita answered his nonverbal question. "Captain, given our current course and speed, we won't make it in time if we dive now. The storm is estimated to last another three to five hours. Give it another hour and we can cover the remaining distance at full speed.."

Yonehara went back to the speaker phone. "Sorry, Watanabe-san. I can't afford to dive now."

 _"Well **** you!"_

"Sorry, didn't copy that. Out."

Any further curses from the irate lookout was silenced by the roaring of another wave crashing over him.

* * *

"Bloody storm…" The Chief Sonar Operator looked up from his work. One of his subordinates just grinned ruefully back at him. "Right, Taichou? We can't hear anything at all in this weather, and nothing nearby can hear us on the surface anyway."

Tanabe grunted as he went back to his computer. The boy was right. The storm was throwing up massive waves, and the crashing sounds from those waves drowned out the hydrophones. Since the surface was so noisy, nothing that was submerged would be able to make out the I-201's noise from surface noise. Therefore, until the storm subsided, the sonar crew were out of a job.

Some of the crew had taken to playing with darts to pass the time. Others were doing things like playing a game of Sudoku or Shogi in the Sonar room. At least, they were doing their best to play that board game, since the pieces had a tendency to move with the submarine. As for Tanabe, he was working on a project of his.

As his headphones were plugged in, he failed to notice anything wrong until he realised just how quiet the Sonar room had become. Looking up, he couldn't see anyone in front of him. Perhaps they had gone for a coffee break? He could use one as well.

Pulling off his headphones, he made to stand up when he realised it was taking him some effort to push back the chair. That was when he noticed the heavy breathing coming from behind him. Slowly, _very_ slowly, he turned his head.

The entire sonar crew stood behind him, with varying degrees of horror and fascination on their faces. One of them pointed a shaky hand at Tanabe's screen. "W-what… is **that**?"

Tanabe blinked. How long had they been _standing_ _there?_ "...!"

He pressed himself against his terminal, hyperventilating as he took in his crew. All of them were just staring at him, like he had committed some foul sin that damned him to the deepest pits of hell. His scrabbling hands reached for the sleep button, but in his haste he couldn't find it. Despite his best efforts to block the screen from view, it couldn't completely hide the little blue-and-green girl waving around a leek as she danced and sang on screen.

"W-what?! I-it's nothing! I m-mean, who doesn't l-listen to Vocaloids?!"

The crew gave him a look. He could feel his soul withering under their gaze.

 _"Hra-tsa-tsa, ia ripi-dapi dilla barits tad dillan deh lando~"_

* * *

"Ugh…"

"My head…"

Kaburagi Ichiro, corpsman of the I-201, really hated storms. Since young, he had a fear of those big dangerous clouds that could kill anything if it chose to do so. There was no warning. You could be standing outside, and next thing you knew there would be a blinding hot flash of light, then the thunder like a gunshot.

Right now, he wondered what would happen to them if a lightning strike were to hit the ocean. Would they be electrocuted along with all the fishes? Charred within this pressure cooker of a submarine?

"-urk!" He pushed those thoughts to the side as the world tilted somewhere around 20 to 25 degrees. Something in the galley crashed to the floor. The general sounds of someone cursing was drowned out by the seasick boys in his medical wing, all hurling up their dinners into chamberpots placed by their bed.

"Oh god, when will this end!?"

 _Good question. The captain's in a real rush if he's trying to force the submarine along at these speeds, in these waves._

Ichiro opened his medical cabinet, studying the remaining supplies of Dramamine tablets he stocked. Behind him, an empty chamberpot rolled across the floor, rattling along before crashing against the bulkhead. "Mm… need to get more when we reach land…"

Thinking aloud, Ichiro glanced around. The number of motion sickness cases he had to deal with had been increasing. Right now there were 7 sick boys in his medical wing, with 12 more having taken medication and gone back to work. He could borrow ginger from the cooks, which would help slow down his thinning stocks of the medicine. Even as he stood there trying to decide, the bottles lurched from side to side in their protective casings.

The increasing levels of vomit that he was having to deal with was another decisive factor. He made for the microphone next to his table.

 _"Captain, please dive. The crew will not, repeat, not be able to take much more of this weather."_

Ichiro waited for a reply. He was just getting up to go and knock some sense into the captain's head when the speakers crackled to life.

 _"All hands, rig for dive. Switch to electric drive."_

* * *

The dive order came to the great relief of the entire crew. But before they could dive, there were a few things that needed to be done.

"All clear on the straightboard!" First, all exterior hatches need to be closed, lest the submarine sank because of some crewman's stupidity. It has happened before. Next, the diesels need to be switched off while the motors continue running on battery power. This took time, but it was eventually done in under a minute.

Last thing to be done, was the flooding of the ballast tanks.

With a massive gurgling noise, water began rushing into the submarine, splashing around the huge tanks lying along the centreline of the submarine. Several heads snapped upwards at the sound, wondering if they were flooding. It sounded like several overhead pipes filled with rushing water.

With the ballast tanks now filled to the cut-off mark, the holes outside the submarine were closed as the negative buoyancy took its hold on the I-201. Slowly and steadily, the submarine went down, beneath the raging storm.

In the bridge, the Chief Torpedo Officer Sakamoto Kuzuki helped tend to a very dazed lookout. The boy had discarded his heavy-weather coat once he came down the ladder. He was now wrapped up like a piece of sushi in a navy blue towel, being helped to a cup of cocoa as he shivered in a chair. The corpsman Ichiro was here as well, looking after Watanabe. The lookout had to ride through two hours worth of thirty foot waves. It would be a miracle if he wasn't suffering the aftereffects.

That's why Sakamoto was holding a green bucket and a slop rag, waiting for the inevitable hurling to begin.

Over at the table, the two navigators were going apeshit over their charts.

"I'm telling you, we're here! We passed that landmark an hour ago. Given that we were going at a speed of fourteen knots, that means we are here now!"

"Well let's not forget that the lookout was being thrown around by the waves for an hour by that point. If he had missed that landmark you're talking about, or mistakenly sighted something that wasn't there, then I wouldn't be surprised!"

"You're never surprised!"

"F*** yes I was when I saw you, Nishina-san, being extremely stupid just two days ago!"

"…I had my reasons."

"Gentlemen, perhaps you could come to a decision before the I-201 hits a reef of some sort?" Yonehara added his own two cents into the conversation, effectively derailing their argument.

"Yes sir."

Sakamoto was distracted from their bickering by the sickening sounds Watanabe was making. He rushed forwards with the bucket, barely getting the bucket in front of him in time before the lookout started emptying out his stomach.

* * *

 _"Calling all contacts. Phase one of Operation Charybdis is a go. Target has set sail."_

There was a brief moment of silence, before the woman in black nodded into the receiver. _"Over and out."_ Setting down the receiver, she replaced the handset on the table as she walked out of the room. An assistant rushed over with her coat, which she draped across her back. The woman wordlessly accepted the tablet from the assistant, and began flipping through the report.

They walked out of the facility and headed for the car. Overhead, a curtain of clouds started rolling in over the horizon, the faint rumblings of thunder audible even from the VERA Radio Telescope facility. It had been a simple enough matter for her to get the technicians to reorient the dish at a designated satellite and broadcast a radio message. Of course, having the express permission of both the Maritime Safety Council and the National Institute of Natural Sciences worked wonders.

The assistant took a few steps ahead of the woman to open the door for her. She didn't even give a sign of acknowledgement, merely stepping into the backseat of the car while the assistant went over to the driver's seat.

They pulled out of the gravel driveway, on their way to the harbour for a ferry to Anjima Island. A convoy of taxi's pulled up behind them, emitting a gaggle of middle school girls. As they alighted, one of them popped a green and orange tube open, shaking out an orange tablet into a covered cup of water.

Neither of the retreating Blue Mermaids noticed the little foam-and-wood device sticking out of a bush.

* * *

"Mou…"

Her eye twitched, but she said nothing. There was so much work to do! There was a literal mountain of paperwork the captain had shoved on her to deal with while she went on shore leave. On further inspection, these papers were from the harbourmaster regarding their docking here at Port Hutami. While the captain was off playing on the island, here she was dealing with this shit.

Apparently bored from visiting the island, the captain had come back to the ship and just started lazing around in the bridge. Every now and then, she'd toss a lazy glance at her deputy working on the papers, but just as quickly look away, back out to sea.

She was still trying to irritate her. Twice already, she had found badly photoshopped pictures of the deputy together with that cute boy from the I-6 in places that she, as well as anyone in the area could clearly see. Those pictures were now scattered around in the ashtray in the bridge. Honestly, who put those things there? None of the girls smoked, or were allowed to smoke anyway, so why was such a thing still here?

The deputy blinked. _Damn it!_ She had just drifted away in her own thoughts, with no doubt what Shizuka would call "love-struck fool" written all over her face.

Groaning, she pushed her chair back from the table as she walked towards the exits, ignoring the wiggling eyebrows of her irritating friend. She poked her head through and took in a deep breath of fresh air, as well as the fumes from a dozen different fishing boats motoring around the harbour. She gagged, stepping back inside as she tried to clear her airway.

There was barely enough time for her to register the _third_ picture jammed into the ash tray before she screamed.

 ** _"GODDAMNIT SHIZUKA!"_**

* * *

"Up scope." A faint whirring noise was heard as the periscope pushed its way through the waters, sliding noiselessly out of its sleeve.

"Hold!" The head barely stopped below the surface. _Three… two… one!_

"Ok, up 1 metre."

The periscope whirred in response as the instrument broke the surface. From a position that was murderously uncomfortable, the captain duck-walked the scope in a full circle. "I see no surface ships, no air blimps, waves riding about 1, 1.5m. Estimate the surface wind coming from South East, blowing at around 15 to 20 knots. Down scope." He snapped up the handles and stepped back, the periscope automatically retracting back into its well.

"Someone help rewind that tape, please."

Kouda did so, pressing a few button on his tablet to activate the television screen. From a menu of past periscope recordings, he selected the latest one and hit play. The others in the bridge watched the blurry image for a grand total of 7 seconds, before the secretary sheepishly hit the slower speed settings. The recording slowed down, stabilising into a much clearer picture.

While the others watched the replay, seeing what the captain had been seeing, the captain took a step back to consult his pocketbook. Checking against the current time, it should be safe for them to surface now.

"Amazing how good nothing can look, eh?"

Nishina chuckled at Sakamoto's offhanded remark. "Well, we never expected anyone else to be out here. We _did_ just run through a storm, you know."

"Tell me about it…" Of all the bridge crew, Sakamoto had taken the worst to the rolling waves. Others ranged from completely unaffected – the captain – to some uneasiness – Kouda and Nishina – to outright puking. That had unfortunately fallen to Nakamura, Sakamoto and Norita. Norita had been in down in the sonar room when the storm hit. A fall in the corridors led to a serious cut and a quick trip to the sick bay. That trip had to be extended when the queasy feeling in his gut gave way to an outpour of his lunch and dinner.

Sakamoto had it worst. He had started puking barely moments after the submarine started its dip and roll in the oceans, and never did fully stop until half an hour after they submerged.

Right now, he had taken to walking everywhere with a sick bag in his pocket. Who knows, the urge may arrive when you least expect it.

"Alright, gentlemen. _Rig for surfacing_ "

 _"Submarine rigged for surfacing, captain"_

"Set dive fins to 5 degrees upwards, blow ballast."

"Hai Kanchou."

Norita grabbed the wheel, the bandages on his left arm forcing him to stand awkwardly to grip the wheel, since he couldn't flex the elbow. Next, the dive officer of the day, Nishina, started turning the black metal wheel that raised and lowered the fins. With several grunts of effort, Nishina turned the wheel clockwise to increase the angle from a 0 degree to 5 degrees. Next, Norita flicked the covers off the "ballast" switches for ballast tanks 1 through 4. Each switch has to be flicked downwards to activate the "blow" mechanisms. By the time all four switches were locked in the "blow" state, there was a noticeable change in the submarine as things slowly began rolling aft.

The crew adjusted, leaning forwards to counter the submarine's backwards tilt. _Broaching in three… two… one…_

A shudder ran through the submarine as it broke free of the surface. Norita reacted quickly, flicking all four switches back into the neutral position and slapping their covers back on. Nishina started turning his own wheel, bringing the fins back to a neutral position. They waited a few moments as the submarine stabilised its position on the surface while the diesels started up.

The lookout went up first as usual, and he reported that the decks were awash. At this, the captain went up as well to consult with Watanabe on something in his pocketbook. The remaining bridge members secured the remaining systems as the various sections ran down their checklists of systems that needed to be prepped and checked on. Once the last report had been made, the Deputy captain gave the all clear to the captain.

All he received was a simple "ok", with no further instruction from the captain. As such, Nakamura made his own orders. "Resume our previous course, Hashimoto-san"

"Hai!" Norita replied. Engineering had gotten the diesels underway, and the idling motors now came back to life, pushing the submarine to its best cruising speed of 14 knots. The storm had delayed the I-201 by a great degree, which meant that there was a rather high chance they would arrive late to the rendezvous.

Not something to look forward to.

Especially when it was rumoured that _they_ had gotten hold of a certain shipment. God help whoever that was on the receiving end of those things.

* * *

The waves lapped against the bow of the ship, giving off a relaxing _tok-tok_ sound. Several girls spent their time off on the deck sunbathing, others performing maintenance on their ships, and even others out on the beaches having a good time. The sun was high, clear skies all around, and the fishermen were out for lunch, meaning their smoke-spewing petrol boats weren't stinking up the harbour. A bunch of seagulls came in to land. As her eyes tracked the birds flying across the harbour, she caught sight of the tip of the white satellite dish atop Mount Asahiyama. All in all, it was peaceful and calm. Not a hint of danger–

A siren went off in the distance.

Instantly, every single crew member snapped their heads towards the source of the noise. Scattered around the island were a series of lightning location systems. One of them had just gone off, klaxons blaring while the little yellow light on it started spinning. One by one, each individual LLS lit up all around the island as they all detected the oncoming storm.

People from all over the island began making their way home while the Public Announcement screeched static. _"A Category One storm has been detected. There is no need to panic. All people are advised to return to their homes. Repeat, a Category One storm has been detected. There is no need to panic…"_

Shimizu looked up from her seat in the bridge. Quickly exiting her app, she looked out the window to see the oncoming thunderstorm. Like an encroaching blanket over the land, she could see rain falling from the clouds like a grey undulating sheet. The gentle, relaxing sway of the ship in harbour suddenly seemed a lot stronger to her now.

Seeing that she was the only bridge personnel available, Shimizu went to the bridge telephone. As she picked it up, she selected a general announcement setting. "Attention all crew members, this is secretary Sanae Shimizu s-speaking." She winced internally at the hitch in her voice. "We have a storm front incoming from the north west. It is estimated to hit in forty repeat f-forty minute's time, so during this time we need to ensure e-everything is secured." _Oh, where was the captain when you needed her?_

"So, please hurry!" She replaced the handset, practically slamming it in place. Glancing around her, she realised something important. Flipping open her tablet, Shimizu checked the itinerary for today. _Oh hell no…_

"Radio, conn" _Come on, come on…_

 _"Radio aye, what is it?"_

"Contact the other ships about the oncoming storm. We need to give them a warning, can you do it?"

 _"Aye Sanae-san."_

She replaced the handset before picking it up again. This time, she made another general announcement. "Attention all crew members, this is Sanae Shimizu speaking. We need to assemble a Damage Control party right now! The _Irako_ is currently understaffed and will need our help before the storm comes in. I want to meet the Damage Control party on deck in ten minutes."

There. Done. What else did she need to do? Her tablet started buzzing as a call came in from her captain.

Shimizu answered it. "Yes, Taichou?"

"Sanae-san, our taxi back has broken down. It will be a while before we can get another, since it seems they have all left for home. How are things on the _Tanikaze_?"

"We're doing fine over here, captain. The crew are currently preparing the ship for heavy weather operations, and I'm sending damage control over to the _Irako_ as we speak. Do you happen to know where did the majority of the _Irako_ 's crew go to? Right now, as far as I know of they have only five crew members watching over the ship. We have twenty crew members over here, so we should be able to have her ready before the storm hits."

"Good work, and no need to worry, Sanae-san. The _Irako_ 's crew are with us as well. I'll let them know of the developments at the harbour." Yamamoto, captain of the Tanikaze, paused for a moment.

"Stay safe, Sanae-san. I'll return soon."

* * *

"Possible contact on bearing three-five-seven. Slow bearing change towards our stern."

"Good job. Keep me informed."

Tanabe sat in his usual chair, his head phones plugged in as he tried to make out the sound his sonar operators were detecting. He could hear it as well, some funny flow noise perhaps. Something was agitating the water, that's for sure. Given that it was coming from roughly the same height as the submarine, that classified as a probable surface ship or surfaced submarine.

He reported in the finding to the captain.

All he got in response was a request for more information.

* * *

The ferry was closed.

Well, what did she expect? Mafuyu could totally understand the reasoning behind stopping all ferry services, but she was in a rush and needed to get back to her ship. From there she could contact and coordinate with the rest of her fleet. The rear admiral was in command of this fleet. If she screwed up, there goes her entire Blue Mermaid career!

She alighted from the car, one hand on her peaked cap as she struggled to keep it from flying away. The incoming storm was still quite some distance from shore, yet the winds had already started picking up. Her assistant did likewise, following Mafuyu as the two walked out of the parking lot by the ferry.

"Mam, perhaps we could call them to pick us up?"

Mafuyu thought the idea over. "Well, we're operating under stealth. We're not supposed to alert the people here that the Benten is nearby. If I was to call them over, a curious person could spot us and radio in their findings and that's it."

"Then why are we under stealth. Wasn't our mission just to brief any Marine High School ships that are in harbor?"

"That's classified."

* * *

A life of power was never an easy one. As that gentleman Lord Melbourne had put so simply, _"that the possession of great power necessarily implies great responsibility."_ So, what was one to do when one discovers something of great importance, something that would have negative effects for those under their charge? What was one to do, when one realizes that the government, the officials, the ones with power greater than yours care nought for their wellbeing?

What was one to do?

 _What was I to do?_

Many a time, he had found himself sitting in his office, staring out the windows overlooking the Kure Naval Base. There was never enough time. So much had to be done before the game was up. So much had yet to be done before he went to bed every night. And there was still so many things to have to consider every day, day in day out.

He wanted to protect his students.

He could not go against his patriotism.

He wanted to put an end to all the things the dark side of Japan kept doing.

He could not intervene, for he had no practical authorization.

He had gone through the proper channels, of course. He dug up everything that he could find about the project, wrote in letter after letter, paper after paper. He forced his way into the governing circle. He pushed past all the red tape designed to stop him.

And yet, it was all for nothing.

He looked down. There in his lap, nuzzled a little black cat. As he gently stroked it, his tired old eyes fluttered over to the letter sitting on his desk.

It rested on top of the rest of his paperwork, a stack that he had never touched since morning.

He knew what they wanted.

The official government seal was clear for all to see.

As so, he sat in his chair, enjoying the last few moments of the setting sun over the naval base.

* * *

Epilogue

"Sonar, Conn."

"Conn aye."

"We have identified the noise on compass bearing 276. It's an ongoing salvage operation." One of the sonar operators had had experience with such things before, following his father out to sea on a salvage trip. "Noise is on a bearing of three-four-eight, estimated distance is 13 to 16km."

"Thank you. Out." The captain replaced the phone.

"Alright Hashimoto-san, come to new course 276. We're going to take a peek at our noisy neighbours."

* * *

 **Author's notes**

 **Welcome back to another chapter of Haifuri - Contact! This will be the last chapter I'm posting until sometime around November. School has started once more, and I need to get my head back into the game, cos this year is the finals.**

 **To all the people who have read, reviewed, followed and/or favorited, thank you so much for your support this entire time. Special shout outs go to Kodok Sangar, Prinz Eugen-Cadence, IrohLegoman, and last but not least hereLiesThisTroper. I wish you guys all the best in your own writings, and hope to see them up on fanfiction. net one day.**

 **P.S. I hope I did your characters justice, hereLiesThisTroper.**


	13. And now,for someone completely different

**Hey there! Because I just couldn't resist waiting any longer, here's a new chapter for you guys!**

* * *

And now for someone completely different

 _"_ _Ahh!"_

It was as if hell had broken loose. There were scattered radio messages from the other ships in the area of the storm hitting the islands. Frantic captains sent distress calls every which way as those unable to make it to port in time found themselves being tossed around like ragdolls in the grip of the ocean.

The crew of the _Tanikaze_ were all either safely on board the _Tanikaze_ , or on board the _Irako_ , which was dealing with the storm as well as its shallow drafted hull could. All that remained unaccounted for was the Bridge Crew. With the exception of Sanae Shimizu, the secretary of the _Tanikaze_ , the rest of the Bridge had gone on a retreat on the Island, leaving just her to look after the ship in their absence.

What this meant was that the girls were caught in a Category 1 storm on Chichijima, with no shelter and a promise to make it back before the storm ended. Sanae knew they would do so. After all, the Captain was Yamamoto Hikaru, a person Sanae knew she could count on anytime. Field Camp had proven that to her, that despite her misgivings of the family name Yamamoto, Hikaru was a really kind and gentle girl that could be relied upon in any situation.

Right now, the screeching noises the ship made as the waves and winds conspired to flex the hull terrified the wits out of her mind. There was an electrical short in the generators, so the entire ship had to be reduced to combat lighting to save power. This meant an eerie red glow that was barely enough for Sanae to read the instruments by. Trying to flip the pages of her newly purchased Light Novel was far too stressful for her eyes.

Without the ability to read, she had nothing to distract her from the horrible noises of the tortured hull, nor the rolling of the ship in the twenty foot waves. Another bad screech elicited a scream from Sanae. Clapping her hands over her ears, she squeezed her eyes shut as the screeching continued. Something crashed to the floor, rolling across the bridge until it came to a rest at her feet.

She leapt backwards. The secretary crumpled in on herself, tucking her knees under her chin as she kept her eyes shut and ears covered. It took her a few moments longer before she realized the screeching sound was no longer coming from the ship, but her own mouth.

It was as Sanae clamped it shut did she realize she was not alone. Over in the other corner of the room, at the starboard side of the bridge, standing among the observational binoculars, was a shadowy figure. Sanae gasped and scrambled backwards on her butt, ignoring the cold metal pressing against her butt. The figure stayed there, staring _right at her_.

It was bumping her head against the metal stand of the port observation binoculars that snapped her out of her terror filled retreat. Another screech, softer this time, caused her to jump as the ship lurched to one side. That was all she needed to look away, and once she looked back, the thing was gone.

"Ok… don't panic. You're just scaring yourself…"

 _"_ _Sa…na…e…"_

 **"Holy F****** SHIT!"**

 _"AHH!"_

 **"AHH!"**

 ** _"AHH!"_**

The two paused for breath. Panting heavily, Sanae took a good hard look at her scarer. She had light brown hair, neck length and all sorts of fluffy. This could only mean one thing.

"Yukari-chan?"

"S-Shimizu-chan?"

The two girls stared at each other. Crickets could be heard over the crashing waves.

"BWAHAHAHA!"

"AHAHAHAHA!"

They started laughing, clutching onto each other's shoulders as tears streamed down Sanae's face. "Oh gods, I thought you were some monster or something!"

"Same here, Shimizu-chan! I thought something weird was in the bridge! None of the Engineers wanted to come up to check, so I came here on my own."

The girls chuckled, their nightmarish scenario forgotten as they realised just what they had been screaming at.

Something just struck Sanae's mind. "Wait, you said the others didn't want to come up, so you came here?"

Yukari nodded, her cheerful smile back on her face.

"…ah shit. The whole ship heard me, didn't they?"

Yukari nodded again.

A certain sizzling noise filled the room as Sanae's face flushed through three degrees of red. "Kill me please."

* * *

At around 1130, the storm started to show signs of slowing down. The ships didn't heave so much in the waves, and the rain no longer sounded like a division's worth of machineguns going off. The two girls Sanae and Yukari stayed in the bridge to wait out the storm. From somewhere, a pack of poker cards had been produced, as well as two bottles of bug juice. One now lay empty on the metal floor, the other half drunk with a little plastic straw poking through the mouthpiece.

The girls sat by the compass stand, swaying with the ship as Sanae scrunched up her face in a pout.

"Go fish."

With another groan of defeat, Sanae watched her new friend draw _another_ card from the deck. The deck had been depleted to about a quarter of its height, and she had yet to "fish" any card from Yukari's massive hand. In contrast, Sanae's hand of cards was down to just 3 cards: a 2 of Hearts, a King of Spades and a King of Diamonds.

Yukari looked at her new card, chuckled and put it into her hand. "Alright, ready to accept defeat now, Shimizu-chan?"

"Never!"

"Aww… fine then, Shimizu-chan. King of Diamonds?"

"…"

Going by her friend's sudden dropping of her head, letting her hair cover her eyes as an aura of gloom settled over her, Yukari nervously chuckled. "S-Shimizu-chan?"

Wordlessly, Sanae pulled from her hand the card in question and handed it to Yukari.

Thunder roared overhead, causing Yukari to flinch. At the same moment, something clanged onto the bridge. Both girls turned their heads to look at the sound. Sanae caught sight of a pair of black leather shoes, a dripping wet pair of legs in black tights and a green and grey backpack slung over the newcomer's shoulder.

"Ma'am!"

She jumped to her feet, saluting while holding her hand of cards behind her back, Yukari did likewise, shoving the cards behind her foot as she saluted as well.

"At ease, girls." The newcomer was utterly soaked, the beige cardigan she wore was completely drenched through, sticking to her very noticeable curves. Her pale red scarf was likewise soaked through, which she started taking off now as the girls watched her. Her long dark brown hair, normally done up in a loose braid over her shoulder, lay in a soaking wet mass down her back.

She looked up at the two girls staring at her and raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"N-Nothing Ma'am!"

"Alright then. What have you girls been up to?"

The two girls gulped. Oh they were _so_ going to get it. "Um… We were–"

"Achoo! 'cuse me. You were saying?"

"Ma'am, you'll catch a cold if you stay soaked!"

Sanae grasped the desperate line that Yukari had just thrown her. "Y-yeah! You should really go get changed, and have a shower!"

The captain of the Tanikaze, Yamamoto Hikaru, smiled as she stifled another sneeze. "Why, thank you. I'm sorry for making you do this again, but Sanae-san, could you please look after the ship once more for me?"

"Yes Ma'am!"

Hikaru smiled as she walked off the bridge. "Thank you. And please dispose of that pack of cards properly before I get back, Yukari-chan?"

"H-hai!"

* * *

It took a good twenty minutes more before the power was back on, providing the girls with lighting, heating and most importantly, electricity once more. The rest of the crew had returned to the ship at the same time as the captain, with the damage control party of the _Tanikaze_ returning to the ship while the _Irako_ 's own crew handled the ship. The return of the damage control teams meant that the engineers which the _Tanikaze_ had sent out could come back and fix the generator.

While this was happening, the remaining returnees regaled the girls with their own tales of what had happened to them.

Most of the girls who were on board before the storm had gathered in the mess hall to listen to the Deputy Captain. The girl in question had made herself comfortable on a table, while the others crowed around the table, squeezing into the seats or just standing around, just to be in earshot of her adventures.

The Deputy tossed her shoulder length red hair behind her shoulder as she continued talking, "…and there we were, walking down the road! All our things were packed inside these waterproof travel bags, and we had our raincoats. It was really deafening out there, with the rain smashing into your raincoat over and over. It was really scary, having someone shooting off a machinegun next to your head!"

A few girls in the audience nodded at this, while the others remained entranced. "We marched on, heading along some road. When all of a sudden, Natori-san slipped and fell and twisted her ankle! The poor girl was screaming in pain while we did our best for her. We had no shelter there, so the captain picked her up, put Natori-san on her back and just walked on.

"Walking, walking, we came to a cross in the road. Here, some driver went past us at high speed. Threw water and gravel at us. I managed to avoid being hit, but Yamamoto-san took the worst of it. Since she didn't want Natori-san to get splashed, she faced the car as it went past, and got a face full of dirty water in return!" There were some murmurings among the crowd.

"Well after that, we kept walking onwards. Although most of us were really tired by this point, we still kept going! We would return! Nothing, not even a storm could stop us!"

"Actually, you were one of those who wanted to just stop right there and wait out the storm. I distinctly remember having to carry you on my back for the next half hour as well."

Instantly, all eyes turned to face the new speaker. The Chief Navigator smirked at the Deputy's cringing face. "Ah, no worries, everything else was true. Yamamoto-san really _did_ get splashed by that car. Well, to continue the story, the driver of that car felt so bad about it that he turned around and came back to offer us a lift. We were so tired and wet that we accepted his offer. He took us to the docks and we just boarded the ship from there. I already took Natori-san down to the medical bay. She'll have to rest for now, so not too much noise, okay girls?"

Sanae mutely nodded along with the rest of the crowd.

* * *

"I'm telling you; It's true!"

" _Really?_ Did you really believe what your Deputy said? I mean... who's to say that there weren't any more... artistic additions?" The fiery headed captain of the _Maikaze_ smirked at Sanae over her cup of rosehip tea.

"But the Chief Navigator vouched for her!"

"You know, Shizuka-chan–"

"Who are you calling _Shizuka-chan_?!"

"I happen to know their Chief Navigator. We met yesterday, and she comes across as a rather honest girl." Mitsuki ignored her childhood friend Sanae's outburst. Mitsuki leaned over and poked a pouting Shizuka in her left cheek. "You need to get to trust others more, Captain. It comes when we have to work together as escorts, you know?"

"I know, I know… Still, when I signed up, I never really expected to become an escort captain."

"Oh? What did you want to be, Shizuka-chan?"

 _"Shizuka-chan!? You should only get to use -chan on me!"_

Both of them ignored the fuming short girl sitting across from them. "I wanted to join the main fleet. To be part of a Torpedo Squadron. Maybe even DesRon 2. That would have been great."

Destroyer Squadron 2, also known as DesRon 2, was a rather familiar name amongst the girls. "Isn't that the one that helped during that pirate incident?" Sanae asked.

"Yeah! They were the first ones to respond to the distress calls, and when they got there they scared the pirates off by shooting at their ships with live shells! I think three to five pirates were captured because of that three hour engagement." Shizuka's eyes glinted. "Sanae-san, you read up on them as well?"

Sanae blushed, now that she was the centre of the two girls' attention. She took a sip of her jasmine tea to wet her suddenly dry throat. "Y-yeah. I mean, who doesn't want to hear about what those girls did? The _Suzukaze_ , the _Shiratsuyu_ and the _Umikaze_ broke the rules of participating in armed combat and fired small caliber weapons at the pirates. The _Suzukaze_ themselves even used themselves as a shield against torpedoes, cutting off a PT boat and causing it to ram into their sides. They didn't care that they were breaking the rules, they just did what was right. I mean, they were the closest people in the area who could help, and despite orders for schoolships to not engage in any attacks, they did so anyway for the sake of saving lives. They even managed to directly prevent the boarding of 3 ferries and a tanker that way."

She considered her thoughts for a second.

"In fact, they were the reason why I wanted to join Yokosuka!"

"Oh? Not because I said that I was applying here? I still remember a certain _someone_ running to catch the mailman..." Mitsuki casually sipped from her cup of Oolong tea, one eyebrow raised.

It took Sanae a few moments for the words to sink in. "H-hey! Don't say that out here–!"

The other girls burst out laughing. Sanae too couldn't stop herself from eventually joining in the laughter.

Wiping away her tears, Shizuka chuckled as the laughter died down. "Well then, I don't know if you already know about it, Sanae-san–"

"Don't say it!"

Sanae held up her hand at Mitsuki's outburst. "No worries sister, there's no need for you to share it with me. If it's a secret, then its up to you what you want to do with it. I won't be rude and exposen what are clearly _your_ personal affairs."

Mitsuki breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness…"

"Besides, I already know about your boyfriend."

 **"WHAT?!"**

"You know, the one from the submarine I-6, the one you've been trying to call for a total of 21 times since you two last met?"

Mitsuki's right eyes twitched. She had stood up so suddenly that her chair had gone skidding across the floor, and her finger pointed accusingly at a smirking Sanae. "How… how did you know?"

Sanae held a finger to her lips, before calmly taking another sip of her jasmine tea. Shizuka just kept laughing her ass off in the background. "Shh… we girls need to keep some secrets of our own, you know."

* * *

Birds chirped lazily overhead as the group of schoolgirls wandered around outside the facility. They were here on Chichijima for a club-sponsored retreat, and they had a whole itinerary planned out. Of course, this meant nothing to the stressed out receptionist, who had just dealt with an overbearing Blue Mermaid official. She had overridden just about every single protocol and rule they had in place to secure her own personal usage of the radio telescope station.

Now, she had to deal with a teacher who was enraged that their appointment to have one of the rare tours of the VERA facility was cancelled on such short notice. This despite the fact that the disclaimer "The management reserves the right to cancel any appointments or meetings at any time without prior notice" was one of the things listed in the Terms and Conditions when the teacher first made the booking.

"I'm telling you, we're really sorry about this, but I just cannot let you in."

"Bullshit! At least give me a reason why!"

"I am not allowed to comment."

"Well then, I want to speak to your manager!"

"I'm sorry, but he is currently unavailable."

As the two women bickered, the girls from Shibamata High School wandered around the place. A few of them were crouched over the reflecting pool, others playing with their own phones. One of them even sat in the shade of a tree and starting reading a book. Of all the girls, one of them took another gulp of a drink from a covered cup. Done, she capped it securely and clipped the cup to the outside of her pack using a carabiner.

In her aimless wandering, she had positioned herself right by a set of bushes. She cast a casual glance around, and seeing no one paying the slightest bit of attention to her, swiped the little foam-and-wood dart from the bush.

* * *

 **Author's notes: ...and here we are! I swear, I had to resist the urge to kill off at least one of my characters every time I sat down to write out a new chapter.**

 **Regardless, we have a brand new chapter! I'm experimenting with a new way of writing, something I wanted to do before but never really got anywhere because of time constraints. A focused POV on a certain character per chapter. That way it wouldn't keep jumping around so crazily like before, to the point where no one really knew whose POV it was. This also means I can pack more characterisation into the chapters, so added bonus!**

 **Of course, the downside is that the chapters will be shorter, since for each section in the timeline, a character can only experience so much. I'll try to make up for it by uploading more than one chapter per round, just so that we can have about an additional 4000 words per upload.**

 **Well, I'm going back on Hiatus. I might still upload irregularly, since it's when I really cannot hold the chapters back anymore. The goal is to resume the "one chapter a week" thing once the December holidays roll around, so until then, don't expect any uploads to be of any consistency.**

 **.**

 **And by the way, to all KC players out there, fuck E3**


	14. Something, everything is wrong

**...and welcome back!**

 **I have returned! The exams are over, and I now have some downtime. I'll be uploading new chapters about every week or so, so please check back for more!**

 **Some restructuring of the story has been made. If you are interested, please go to the first chapter and read from there. I will admit, there wasn't much of a plot in mind when this was written, other than Toumai being something more than a punching bag for the girls. It then went on to a plot involving political backstabbing and infighting, underlying plots and motives and a boy with far too much burden on his mind.**

 **After going through it so many times, I really wanted to follow through on the idea of having Norita/Marvin undergo a breakdown. However, whenever I did so, the result wasn't good enough and/or did not have the desired impact. Another idea was to make all the events I'm writing a figment of someone's imagination. That while this story had some truth to it, it was ultimately being told by a mentally insane patient in long-term hospital care.**

 **...yeah. You can probably see why I scrapped that idea.**

* * *

Something, everything is wrong

Trailing behind them in their wake was a diesel-fuel yacht, the _647 Finisher_. Right now, it had a nasty crack down the side of the hull and was leaking diesel a gallon a minute. The radio operator managed to localize the distress signal, where the girls found a man shipwrecked on the West face of Imotojima. The damage control crew had the crack shored up with lots and lots of wooden blocks and planks, and soon enough it was seaworthy. All they had to do was tow it back to Chichijima for the _Akashi_ to repair.

That was all fine and dandy, if one did not take into account just how many of these trips the crew had already made.

The scratchy sounds of a pen against paper distantly filtered from within the classroom. A man sat at one of the tables inside the room with a girl opposite him. Sanae ignored how the man who she placed at around 40 to 50 years of age was still devilishly attractive and concentrated on her work. As the secretary, she was most often tasked with any and all forms of paperwork. This included repair forms, salvage forms etc.

She could have simply put off the work for later and just enjoyed the day. Having spent the entire night and morning on the ship, she had missed her chance to actually get off the _Tanikaze_ and have fun. The best that she could do to make up for it was go above deck and get some of the fresh sea air. That is, if not for the paperwork to finish.

The Tanikaze had so far rescued 4 ships with their crew and passengers, and the captain estimated an additional 4 more by the end of today. If they had to, the Tanikaze would continue working through the night until all ships were safely accounted for.

That had been the captain's declaration that morning, which drew many cheers from the crew, Sanae included. She was thoroughly hating that decision now. Rescuing shipwrecked people was a noble thing to do, but it was becoming more and more of a chore than she had expected, especially since she could not do anything much to help out besides giving the shipwrecked captains stress over filling out paperwork.

It had gotten to the point where she just locked herself in the classroom and kept writing out the forms. It was a simple enough matter to do, since all she had to do was fill out the basics and let the captains handle the more personal parts themselves. That is, until the _Tanikaze_ reached Haha-jima and its surrounding islands. There, a whole bunch of foreigners had gotten themselves stuck when the storm came in and sank many of their personal yachts and catamarans.

From what scattered English the crew still remembered, these people were here to meet their sons serving at something called the Yorktown Naval Academy. Of course Sanae could not just leave the forms for these people to do, they would class as immigrants, meaning there was an even bigger stack of papers for them to go through. That was ignoring the fact, of course, that they did not speak a single word of Japanese.

The resident translator Miyuki just looked over the forms, made as many annotations as she could, and was dragged off to go placate the foreigners waiting on deck. Because of this, Sanae now had to keep the captain of the yacht _647 Finisher_ with her while she worked.

The man was nice enough to stay out of her way as she scribbled down kanji after kanji. Despite not speaking a single word of Japanese, the blonde haired man was able to understand some basic things like stand, sit and stay. Right now, he was sitting there, blankly signing away at the places she indicated for him while she did up the rest of the report. Otherwise, he did nothing more than to stay quiet while she worked.

A few times, she had looked up to catch him staring at her, to which he quickly looked away. It was… well, she didn't know how she should be taking it. Creeped out? Perhaps, but it didn't seem like that. Every time she caught a glimpse of his face, he had the look of a man who had lost something dear to him.

Wordlessly, Sanae pushed over another sheaf of papers, pointed out the parts where he needed to read and fill out, and resumed her task. The man, who was spinning his pen around his fingers, just got down to it and started adding his own handwriting to hers. Sanae noted how his handwriting was rather beautiful, yet there was… something off about it that marred its beauty.

She caught herself staring once more and looked at her pile of paperwork. All those sheets of paper had finally been moved from one pile to another. Once the man was done, she could add that to the pile and be on her way. Sanae leaned back in her chair and stretched, sighing in relief as her bones loosened up. "Finally…"

As Sanae got up, she spotted something curious out of the corner of her eye. Reaching over, she picked up the top sheet of paper and read through it. The man's handwriting was there in his blue fountain pen, while hers was scribbled everywhere else in her black ballpoint pen. All those English classes from long ago was slowly starting to come back to her. The first character was an "L", and the second an "A" …next was a double "R" and a "Y". La-rry. "La Ri?"

The man looked up. With a flourish, he finished signing off his name. " **Yes?** "

 _Holy shit that was deep!_

Sanae blushed and looked away, keeping her head bowed. The man shrugged and pushed the piece of paper over to her, and it was all she could do to not just grab it and dash out of there. Instead she took it gingerly from him and placed it on top of the pile. Sanae rose from her seat, covered the box full of papers with its lid and hefted it in her arms. She was about to leave when the man spoke up.

" **A-ari…gato.** "

She just looked back at him and nodded, before stepping outside.

* * *

Sanae had dropped off the box in her room and was making her way above deck. Below decks, the heat was not as pronounced as there was air conditioning in the ship's systems. Above deck, the temperature was near scorching. With the sun directly overhead and no clouds to block its rays, the sun beat down full force on the ship's top deck.

Sanae could feel the hot metal deck through her shoes as she emerged from the hallways. Distant noises of other people on the deck waiting drifted faintly over to her, as the Quartermaster sorted out where they would be placed on the ship. Noticing just how hot it was, Sanae started to feel bad for using the classroom. Perhaps the bridge or the mess hall would have been better, if these people didn't have to suffer the heat…

Her distracted thoughts nearly caused her to bump right into the Chief Torpedo Officer. The girl raced around the corner, screaming in laughter. A few moments later, the Chief Gunnery Officer followed after her, one hand holding down her skirt while she chased the other girl. Sanae just watched them disappear around the 2nd torpedo turret and shook her head.

 _Such a disgrace…_

With that cheerful thought, Sanae climbed the ladder that led straight to the bridge.

Inside was utter chaos.

The Deputy Captain was busy arguing with the Quartermaster, the Chief Navigator was trying to placate an irritated foreign woman, and the captain was nowhere to be seen. _When both the Captain and the Deputy captain are unavailable, it falls down to the secretary to handle things._

 _"_ _Excuse me!"_

They carried on arguing.

"Well, excuse me! Where is the captain?!"

Still no one took notice of her. _Baka!_

" **Shut up!** "

Instantly the bridge fell silent. Sanae took in their faces and knew that she had but seconds before they would go back to shouting. She raised her hand and pointed it at a random person. "Alright, you first. What is it?"

 _Aw crap it's the Deputy–_

"The Quartermaster can't find anywhere to stuff the new arrivals, and was suggesting we move out and let them have our rooms."

"Then give me something else to work with! These people are stressed, tired and hungry! Enduring conditions like these is not something we, as Yokosuka Marine High School students, should stand for!"

Sanae barely gave the matter any thought before she spoke the first thing on her mind. "QM, the classroom is empty. In the future we do all our activities in the mess hall or the bridge. Give the newcomers the classroom. Next?"

"B-but–"

The Chief Navigator answered for the foreign lady. "She claims she has something important to tell the captain, but we don't know where the captain is."

"Well then, just give a ship-wide message asking for the captain to come to the bridge. What does she want? Perhaps she can tell us?"

"I tried doing that, Sanae-san. She refuses to say anything else."

Sanae sighed, "Right, then have her stay here while we wait for the captain." She then walked over to the microphone and pushed the little button. "Captain, you are needed on the bridge. I repeat, Captain, you are needed on the bridge."

* * *

It was just as Sanae's wristwatch beeped 5pm did the lady emerge from the Captain's room. She had just come down from above deck when she caught sight of the lady. The lady opened the door, slipped out and closed it, leaving the door ajar. She then turned for the stairs, giving Sanae a polite smile and nod as she brushed past the secretary. The instant Sanae saw her disappear up the stairs, she sprinted for the captain.

"Taichou!"

The captain was seated on her bed, staring at her hands. Skidding to a stop, Sanae took in the captain's appearance. Yamamoto Hikaru, an ever proud yet demure girl, with all the markings of an Ojou-sama plus Yamato Nadeshiko, looked… _different_.

Her slightly hunched posture, the way she sat that was just slightly off… Her long dark brown hair lay braided over her left shoulder, a little red ribbon in its signature bow tied onto the end. As Sanae looked closer, she started to spot a few details. Yamamoto's braid was frazzled, with little pieces of hair sticking out.

That was as far as Sanae got before the captain started breaking down.

Hikaru clasped her right hand to her mouth, bending over in her seat as her body started shaking. Sanae hadn't made it past three steps into the room before the first sob escaped her.

It was all Sanae could do to not rush out and go after that lady. Instead, she hurried over to her captain. The girl was hugging herself as tears fell one after another, little trickles running down her face. Another choking, strangled noise as Sanae stood there, unsure of what to do. Seeing her captain like this was doing Sanae's heart and conscious no favors.

 _Ah, screw it._

Carefully stepping forwards, Sanae wrapped her arms around the girl, hoping she would calm down. Hikaru stiffened in her arms, before releasing herself and grabbing Sanae, pulling the surprised secretary onto the bed with her. She stayed there for a while, firmly hugging the captain, all the while aware of how awkward their position was.

Hikaru had her face buried in Sanae's shoulder, letting the tears soak into the girl's shirt. With each sob, Sanae could feel her heart twist even more.

"Onii-chan… you're warm…"

 _Oh gods_

"Onii-chan… please… don't go. Don't… don't leave me a-again…"

Sanae's only response was to tighten her grasp on Hikaru. "Don't worry, Hikaru-chan. I won't go."

It took the captain another five more minutes for her crying to stop. When she did, she shyly released Sanae from their hug. "S-shimizu-chan…"

"Shh… it's ok, Hikaru-chan. Everything's ok."

Sanae drew back, taking in the warm smile the captain had back on her face. A lifting feeling came over her, like she could fly. It was as if she was so cold and miserable that there didn't seem to be anyway for there to be any warmth left in the world, and all of a sudden the wind blows, the clouds part and the sun starts shining right down onto her. And just for that one moment, she knew that no matter how cold and dark the world was outside of that one spot, as long as she was in that one place, in that one amazing second, the cold could never ever get to her.

 _I guess the feeling's mutual._

* * *

 _What was that all about?_

Sanae sat on the captain's bed. The girl in question sat a few inches away from Sanae, closer to the top of the bed. She was busying herself with dabbing at the tear streaks down her cheeks, and mumbling something that Sanae could not make out. During this time, Sanae took in her surroundings.

Her scarf hung from a coat hanger in a wide open closet, with her cardigan hanging from a separate hanger. The little green backpack hung from the back of her chair, its contents scattered over the table.

The scarf and cardigan were still damp from yesterday's rain and the bag had left a pool of water on the ground. Among these, Sanae managed to catch sight of two cloth covered objects sitting inside the cupboard. One was rather long and thin, almost reaching her height. The other was smaller, and more compact, like a large document tube.

Scattered across the table were a bunch of files, though one file in particular stood out. From what Sanae could see from her vantage point, the black file was rather thin, holding perhaps no more than a few sheets of paper. Yet, it had a bunch of gold Kanji embossed on the obviously hardcover front.

Other than the strange folder on the table, the other thing that caught her eye was the picture frame on the table. It was made of wood, and to be honest was a bit on the ugly side. The wooden frame was full of notches and splinters, and one of the sides was off by just that _little_ bit that would kick off anybody's inner OCD.

It was a family photo. Taken at a studio, the background was all white. The two adults sat side by side at the front, their two oldest children by their sides. The lady sat on the left, with a teenage girl next to her. A middle-aged man, probably in his forties to fifties, sat on the right with a teenage boy. Behind the two adults stood two young girls. The older of the two stood behind the man, while the younger girl stood behind the lady.

All the girls wore a white dress with their hair tied up in a blue ribbon, except for the girl in the front. She wore a peaked cap, not unlike those worn by the Blue Mermaids. The boy wore a white shirt and long black pants, complete with a blue tie. He held in his lap a framed certificate, though what was on it Sanae couldn't see. The man wore a black suit, also wearing a blue tie. As for the lady…

She was wearing a Blue Mermaid uniform.

There was something off here…

Sanae tore her gaze away from the picture, only to be caught by Hikaru's vacant stare. The captain was staring off in the distance, her mind a million miles away.

"…that's my family."

Sanae tried to speak, but Hikaru just scooted closer to Sanae. "We took that picture back when I was in Elementary School. I was in the graduating batch, my Onee-chan was in her first year at Yokosuka, and my eldest sister was in her first year with the Blue Mermaids. My Onii-chan, he had just finished his Medical degree, and was going to work on a hospital ship. The _MV Anastasis_. He… he made that frame for me before he left.

"Back then, we lived in the town Ajigauracho, of Hitachinaka, Ibaraki prefecture. We lived opposite the baker's and every morning there was this wonderful smell of freshly baked goods. Every now and then, Onii-chan would take me down to the beach. This one time, while we were there, we found this really huge piece of driftwood. It must have been there for years, yet no one saw it. It was all dried out.

"We took it home, and managed to hide it in his room. A few years went by and I pretty much forgot all about it. That is, until he gave this to me."

Hikaru stood up, walking over to her desk to pick up the picture. Having done so, she sat back down with Sanae, blocking any further view of the desk.

"This. He took the driftwood with him to University, and kept it with him. He told me that it was his friend's idea to carve the wood into something, so he made it into a picture frame. He said that he had to borrow his friends' tools, and once stole sandpaper from the University's workshop just to get it complete. He… he really put a lot of effort into it."

Sanae could feel her heartstrings being pulled. _And who was the one who thought the frame was ugly?_

"The night before he boarded the ferry, he gave this to me. Explained to me where it came from, all the pains he had gone through to make it, and that it was all worth it when he saw my face…" Here, Hikaru paused to brush away a few tears.

"It's ok, Hi – Yamamoto-san. You don't need to continue."

Hikaru looked at Sanae. "Haa… sorry about that. I guess, I just really wanted someone to talk to about everything," she fidgeted nervously in her seat. Just as Hikaru made to put the picture back on her desk, Sanae laid her hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Yamamoto-san, if you don't mind, may I take a look at the picture?"

Hikaru gave a soft, sad smile as she handed it over. Accepting it, Sanae studied the details of the thing itself. The picture frame was as she had suspected, rather badly made. She could make out the little notches in the wood where the carver missed his mark with the chisel. If she looked at it right, there was even a little spot of blood ingrained in the wood as well.

"It's… It's beautiful." She handed it back to Hikaru.

The captain smiled wistfully as she accepted the frame from Sanae. "You know, Sanae-san, I think you're the only person I've ever shared this with."

Sanae looked away, embarrassed. She lightly swung her foot, kicking the floorboards. "I-it's nothing, really. I just happened to pass by, that's all."

A small hand appeared in her view, causing Sanae to look up. Her captain spoke, "Well then, Sanae-san. It's best that we go above decks now, before people start worrying for us." Sanae reached up and took her hand, letting Yamamoto pull her to her feet.

"Of course, Yamamoto-san."

As the two girls left the room, Sanae noticed out of the corner of her eye that the folder was no longer on the desk.

* * *

Later that night

"Hi, Onii-chan."

"…"

"I'm back again. Today, we had so many new visitors! Right now we're rescuing all those people stranded by the storm last night. We've managed to get everyone onto Chichijima, so right now all the girls are sleeping. We're docked at Chichijima as well."

"…"

"I can hear the _Akashi_ from here as well, Onii-chan. Those poor girls, they've been working non-stop ever since that storm ended, I guess they'd be really tired out by now."

"…"

"So… what do you think, Onii-chan? I… I hope you're happy, wherever you are, and that you're proud of me. I'm saving people, just like you've always wanted to do."

"…"

"There's this girl on the ship, I hope you'd like her. She came in today, asked me a few things. I told her about you, Onii-chan. How you wanted to be a doctor, how you made this for me." A rattle of wood-on-wood as something as placed onto the desk.

"…"

"Oh! Don't worry, I didn't tell her too much! You never liked it when I talk to others about our problems… always saying that if I did so, you would leave me. Well, Onii-chan, I'm really sorry, all I did was tell her about this thing that you made me. I didn't tell her about… you know."

"…"

"Still, I really want you to meet her! She's very trustworthy, Onii-chan! You always said I was a bad judge of character, that everyone was out to use me for the sake of our family's power, but I really, REALLY believe that Sanae-san is a good girl. I'm sure you'll like her when you meet her."

"…"

"Ah… I guess that can't really happen, can it? Just wishful thinking on my part, I guess…"

"…"

"Good night, Onii-chan. I've missed you."

Lifting it to her lips, Yamamoto Hikaru brought the top of the little white mouse's head to her lips and gently laid a kiss on it.

"Sweet dreams, Onii-chan."

* * *

 **Author's notes: After so long, it felt good to reupload this chapter. The last time I uploaded it, it was a mistake and I eventually decided to take it down.**

 **For the benefit of hereLiesThisTroper, I took some liberties with the character Sanae Shimizu. I felt that her overbearing personality was due to her having a position of power. If she were shackled by having a lower status, with no one to directly boss over, her personality would be different. (In truth, I'm basing off her actions on mine. I had held a leadership position for about six month before stepping down. After I stepped down, I realised that while I had power, I behaved rather badly towards my subordinates. After I had lost that power, I realised I still tried to boss people around like I had before. Given that lack of power, my orders were often ignored or not taken seriously.**

 **I'm basing Sanae Shimizu off myself. Once a person holds power, they may not realise how different they were acting, how much the power has affected them until they are forced to take a step back and reflect.**

 **In this case, Sanae has yet to experience that power. It was probably a mistake to place her as a secretary, and then yet again, maybe not. Perhaps this side of her character would appear in chapters yet to come...**


	15. Radio Noise

**Hello there. Before we begin, I would like to respond to tforce's question. Will the _I-201_ take part in canon events? Yes. It most certainly will. The basis of this entire story is what has been going on behind the scenes leading up to and including the events of _Haifuri_.**

 **If you need a timeline to keep track, then think of the story as taking place sometime in the year before _Haifuri_.**

 **Lastly, to all _Kancolle_ admirals out there, I wish you all the best of luck. I burnt 30 buckets to clear E1 Med, so I highly doubt I can clear the rest of the event on Medium.**

* * *

Radio Noise

"Bleh."

A girl with a black beret clutched her walkie talkie in her hand. Her thin frameless glasses were hanging off the tip of her nose, just waiting to fall off at any moment. She had shoulder length black hair that gently brushed her shoulders, which was allowed to hang freely today. Instead of the usual school uniform, she had chosen to go with a black sweater dress that showed off her collarbone and cleavage. She cast a glance over her shoulder, giggling at the sight of her captain.

The short girl lay sprawled over the planning table, her mane of blonde hair "gloriously exploding" down her back in all its frizzy and split-end glory. The grey coat lay draped over the back of her chair, providing a backrest for the girl. Her normally lethargic face was made worse, with those massive eyebags and bloodshot eyes. Scattered all over the table were sheets of papers. A pen tumbled its way out of the girl's leaden fingers and clattered to the floor.

In short, Sango Sugimoto was tired.

"Ara, ara~ Are you alright, Sango-san?" The black-haired girl knelt down to pick up the pen, gently placing it next to her captain.

"Bleh," was Sango's only response. "Why did we agree to this anyway, Tatsuko-chan?"

Tatsuko hid her mouth behind her hand as she giggled. "Ara, ara~ Sugimoto-chan, you yourself said it just a few days ago. Since we were the closest people with the ability to help, we had to help. Or have you forgotten?"

"I have not…" Grumbling, Sango propped her head up on an arm, idly inspecting a recently emptied mug. "It's just… blargh..."

"Fufufu, I know what you mean, Sugimoto-chan. It's hardwork being the captain, isn't it?"

"Ah, you can say that again… The mechanics must have it worse though. I mean, they would have been working non-stop as well, right? And while I get this air-con room, they've got those hot and sweaty workshops and furnaces to work in…"

Tatsuko giggled again. "So how have they been? What's the latest report from the engineering division?"

"This one was sent by Hoshino-chan. They were finished with repair orders 376 to 421 and are requesting for more things to do. I gave them request orders 525 to 560 about an hour ago. What about you, Tatsuko?"

" _Great Whale_ was finishing up repairs when I came in. Damage Control Party Two went out to the town to distribute more camping equipment and replace DameCon Three. I'm just waiting for them to radio me when their shift is up so I can swap them out for DameCon One."

"Hnngh…" Sango leaned back in her chair, stretching herself in a bid to wake herself up. "Alright then, I might as well go walk around the ship a bit. The Deputy can handle the rest of the stuff while I'm gone."

Tatsuko smiled, "That's nice of you, Taichou–" She was cut off by a burst of static before her radio crackled to life.

 _"–_ _tsuko-chan? Tatsuko-chan?"_

Tatsuko lifted the walkie talkie to her mouth as she depressed the transmit button, "I hear you, Mimi-chan. Is everything settled?"

 _"_ _Yeah! The girls are ready to crash out! When are our replacements coming?"_

"Soon. They've been waiting for you to call in so we can do this."

 _"–_ _ood! Oh, please tell them to bring along extra climbing rope and some chocolates as well. The adults need more since theirs broke. We gave them ours but just in case, ya' know?"_

"Alright, Mimi-chan. I'll pass the message along." Releasing the button, Tatsuko turned to her captain, "Sango-chan–"

"Ah, its fine. Go do what you need to do."

" **Hai! Ariga** tougoz _aimasu…"_

The black beret girl raced off, her voice echoing back to the captain even as it started fading away.

Sango sighed as she picked herself up. Slinging her grey coat around herself in one smooth motion borne of years of habit, she walked out of the classroom, closing the door behind her as she left. As she slipped the key into the folds of her coat, one could hear the girl mutter something under her breath.

"Hebrews 13:8. How bloody apt."

* * *

The _Tanikaze_ bellowed its fog horn in greeting as it got close to the harbour. It was greeted in turn by the _Akashi_ and the _Maikaze_. The _Maikaze_ had returned earlier than the _Tanikaze_ so as to be a ferry. There were people here who wanted to go home after having been through a storm like that. Since the Ogasawara Island Chain was so isolated from the rest of the Home Islands, it would be quite difficult to organize ferry services from Chichijima to mainland Japan.

In order to solve the problem, the leader of the convoy the _Akashi_ had arranged for one of the destroyers to be a high speed transport for those that had been displaced to the nearest floating city. That just so happened to be 50 nautical miles off Aogashima. From there the passengers would be handed off to the ferry service of Aogashima floating city and _Maikaze_ would come back to Chichijima. This would keep repeating until all who had wanted to leave have left.

Right now, the _Tanikaze_ had arrived just hours before the _Maikaze_ was going to set sail. Passengers were being loaded on board and shepherded either into the classroom or on the deck.

Sanae, secretary of the _Tanikaze_ , held in her arms several manila envelopes as she made for the _Akashi_ 's berth. She could see the stark difference that the _Akashi_ had made to the town. When the storm had come and gone, several homes had been damaged, the power grid was unluckily damaged as well and the tiny boats in harbour had been smashed apart. The bigger boats like the modern yachts had come out with some damages as well. Amazingly, one had managed to develop a massive crack down its starboard side that left it sunk up to the top deck in harbour.

Now, the place was much cleaner. All the houses had electricity since electricians from the _Akashi_ had brought most of the equipment and replacements to fix the electrical grid. Since the generators were knocked out, the _Akashi_ had to be hooked up to the electrical grid as well to generate power.

A few streetlamps were missing, most likely having fallen down during the storm and was removed to prevent falling dangers. In short, in the span of three days the _Akashi_ 's Damage Control had more or less restored enough of the town for the citizens to go about their lives normally.

Hurrying along, Sanae shivered in the chilly night air as she reached the _Akashi_ 's berth. Engineering crew swarmed up and down, dressed in varying versions of their standard orange jumpsuit, white tank top and white safety helmet.

A group of engineers rushed down the gangway as they carried with them several litters worth of tentage and blankets. One of them shouted orders to her gang as the litters were unloaded and stuffed on board a waiting van. With the last roll of blankets stuffed inside, the girls climbed in as well, their leader slamming the door shut.

The van moved off, heading deeper into the island.

Having watched those girls, Sanae turned and walked briskly up the gangway.

"Okay, bring it over here!"

"Watch it!"

"I need another gallon of motor oil!"

Weaving through the crowd on top deck, the secretary reached the interior corridors of the _Akashi_. A quick check of the interior map meant that she needed to take a right and two decks down to the classroom.

Setting on her way, Sanae soon realised just how busy the _Akashi_ was. Every five minutes or so, at least one jumpsuited girl would rust past her. Some hastily apologised as they ran by, others screamed at her to get out of the way, and others not even acknowledging her presence.

As Sanae reached the deck with the classroom, a girl wearing a black beret appeared. The radio she clutched near her mouth crackled with static as she engaged with a shouting match with whoever it was on the other end.

"Yes, we have more of–"

 _"–_ _zzz a whole lot more –zzz othing!"_

"Well, then, sub it for something else! _Irako_ 's not coming back until…" The black beret girl rounded the corner and her conversation faded from hearing range.

"…wow. They really have it hard, don't they?"

"Indeed."

 _Asdfghjkl!_

"Ahh!" Sanae jumped from the sudden voice behind her. Whirling around, she caught sight of a girl about her height with blonde hair and a massive grey coat. "Oh, it's just you, Sango-san."

"Were you expecting someone else, miss…?"

"Not really, you just gave me a shock, that's all… Oh, sorry! Where are my manners? I'm Sanae Shimizu, secretary of the _Tanikaze_." She hurriedly bowed, face slightly flushed with embarrassment. "I was to pass these things to you." She brought out from under her arm multiple thick envelopes and offered it to Sango.

"Oh, is it finally my paycheck?" Sango opened one of the envelopes, her light hearted demeanour fading away even as her lips pressed so hard together they became just a thin line. A shadow seemed to cover her face. "Shit."

"Ah ha ha… Sumimasen…"

"…No worries, I just really hate paperwork, that's all. I'm about to go on my rounds, want to join me, Sanae-san?"

Sanae ran a quick mental checklist. Everything that needed to be done could be done without her. In fact, her duties for the day ended the moment she delivered the paperwork to the person who would be using them. _But it feels like I'm forgetting something planned for tonight..._

"Sure, I don't mind."

Sango smiled, though it didn't quite seem to reach her eyes.

"Alright then, follow me."

Sango started walking along at a brisk pace, forcing Sanae to hurry after her. As she walked, Sango talked.

"How has it been? So many things kept happening around here, so I haven't really gotten much sleep lately."

"Um… We managed to pick up the last batch of stranded foreigners…"

"Oh? What were they like?"

"They were… um…"

Sango spun around, walking backwards while she talked. "Ah don't worry! Just say whatever you want! I'll keep it a secret!"

 _She's not really like this…_

"Um… they were rather quiet, no one made any trouble or anything…"

"HUH?! No troubles, no conflicts, NOTHING?"

"N-no… not really… sumimasen…" Sanae bowed her head, keeping her eyes on the captain's feet as Sango took a sudden left.

"EH… was hoping for something exciting too… Nothing interesting has happened to me yet. It's just paperwork, all day all night. I keep asking myself, when will this be over? And all I can do is say, 'It's not time yet'… Heh."

 _Heh?_

 _"_ _It's not time yet. It's not time yet. What colour will the morning be~?"_

As the captain skipped down the hall, singing out loud to herself, Sanae could only wonder just what had happened to the quiet, stoic and cute Sango-san she had been hearing of.

Pulling her phone out from her little waist pouch, she flicked it open to the secretary's chat group. The _Akashi_ 's secretary had posted a few pictures recently. Looking at them and at the prancing girl in front of her, Sanae really doubted they were the same person.

Glancing back and forth between her phone and the person, she quickly pushed a button and took a 5 second video of the captain just as Sango turned around towards her.

Ignoring her vibrating phone, Sanae picked up the pace as she raced after the captain.

Settling back into a walking pace behind the captain, Sanae tried to pick up the conversation from where they left off, "Um… what has been happening around here?"

"Hmm?" Sango paused in her humming, having missed what Sanae said. "What was that?"

"Uh… I was asking if there was anything going on recently…"

"Nope," Sango's voice was crisp. "Not one thing. At least for me, while the others might have more to say. Since I'm the captain, all I get to do is sign off the paperwork, sit in with and _discuss_ issues with all the displaced idiots, make calls, call in favours, more red tape and bloody ass-kissing, ya' know. Usual stuff."

She skipped a step to face Sanae again, "In fact, the only time I get to myself is when I do things like this. Going for a walk around the ship. Helps remind me why I'm doing this."

"And that's…?"

"Live on the sea! Protect the sea! Sail the sea!"

"… isn't that the Blue Mermaid's motto?"

There was something in Sango's gaze, chilling and hard as it bored into Sanae's eyes. "Yeah, it is. I joined Yokosuka because I wanted to be able to help others. If I am to help, I must be able to tend to those who are hurt, those who are injured, those who cannot help themselves. This was what my nee-chan wanted, so I'll do it all on her behalf. Oh look, we're here."

Before Sanae could say anything, the captain moved in front of a doorway, gesturing for her to follow. She went along, and just as she reached the entrance, a gust of hot air burst out. She squeaked in surprise while Sango laughed. "Hah! Oh god, that really caught you, didn't it?! Oh yeah, you might want to step aside."

There wasn't a need for Sango to remind her. Sanae flattened herself against the walls as best as she could as a troop of orange jumpsuited girls surged past her and through the doorway.

When the dust had settled, Sango was smirking as Sanae picked herself off the wall. Peeking around the corner once more, she made sure the coast was clear before following the captain in. The first thing that hit her was the sheer heat of the room. It must have been clocking in at over 30 degrees Celsius, and she could feel it from where she stood in the entrance.

The second thing she noticed was the sound. It was a general roar of machinery and flames and people shouting over the noise. Before she could comment on anything, the yellow haired girl was already greeting the orange-clad chief supervisor. Despite being barely metres from them, Sanae found herself unable to hear anything.

The loudest sound she could pick out was the grinding noise as one of the girls pressed a circular saw blade to a metal pipe. Even as she watched them, Sanae noticed something strange about the engineers.

As Sango turned away from the supervisor, Sanae lightly tugged on the captain's sleeve. The captain, with her coat draped over one arm and a sheaf of papers in the other, shouted at her.

"WHAT IS IT?"

"WHY ARE THERE ADULTS HERE?" Sanae shouted back.

Sango was starting to walk even further into the room, forcing Sanae to keep up. "NOT ALL THE GIRLS HERE ARE CERTIFIED ENGINEERS. IN FACT, MOST OF THEM AREN'T HIGHER THAN A MACHINIST'S MATE!"

Sango weaved her way around a forklift heading somewhere and continued talking like nothing had happened. "THE ADULTS ARE THE PROFESSIONALS THAT THE GIRLS LEARN UNDER! WE HAVE OVER 400 ENGINEERS HERE, BOTH CIVVIES AND STUDENTS!"

One of the mechanics rushed past, Sanae barely catching a glint of metal in the lady's hand even as she started shouting after the forklift driver.

"THEN ARE THEY ALL WOMEN?" Sanae asked.

"OF COURSE! WHY WOULD WE LET MEN on board?" As the captain spoke, she passed through the doorway, exiting into another corridor.

"I SEE– a-ah I mean, I see."

Sanae blushed as a few passing engineers gave her strange looks for shouting in the hallways. Though her face showed nothing, she had a strange feeling that Sango was trying not to smile.

"Good. Well, thank you for accompanying me so far tonight, Sanae-san. It has been most pleasant spending time with you."

"Likewise, Sango-san." Sanae stretched out her hand for a handshake, but at Sango's raised eyebrow, realised the situation the girl was in. "Oh!" Holding out her hands, she held onto the papers while Sango swung the coat onto herself in one smooth motion. Taking the papers back, Sango held her hand out, and the two shook.

Even as she did so, Sanae felt something hard pressed into her hand. She withdrew her hand, and gazed uncomprehendingly at the black thumbdrive in it. Yokosuka's emblem was missing from it.

"What–"

"You go back, you read what's inside and you _reformat_ the thumbdrive, am I clear?"

The captain's face, while moments ago was bright and hiding a smile, had all of a sudden become completely unreadable. Her tone had shifted as well, from her usual contented voice to a deeper one that brooked no argument.

"H-hai."

"Good. Go." With that, Sango unceremoniously shoved the girl from behind up to the top deck, leaving her alone among the throng of working engineers.

* * *

Shizuka stretched as she climbed the steps into the bridge, giving a huge yawn as she did so. Another crew member went past her – Marisa, of the Supply Personnel – dropping off a steaming hot cup of coffee into Shizuka's hands. She nodded her thanks even as the blonde-haired girl retreated below.

"Fuaahh… That really hits the spot…"

Sipping from her disposable cup, the captain looked around her bridge. The rest of the crew were already here. Her navigator was fiddling with the compass rose, the gunnery and torpedo officers were both huddled together under a blanket like a pair of hikikomori and her secretary…

Her secretary was giggling away to herself, the light of her tablet shining off her thick oval glasses. Despite the often-ignored side of her telling her not to, Shizuka could feel the smirk settling across her face.

She took a quick glance around. Her deputy was not here yet, being stuck outside settling in the last few boarders. Everyone else wasn't paying attention. The fiery-headed captain strode over, and too fast for the distracted secretary to act, grabbed hold of the tablet.

"What'cha looking at– Oh! Oh my!"

The tablet had an image of a familiar young girl. With her grey coat around herself and a smile on her face, she twirled and twirled in the video while singing along to some strange anime song.

"Oh my gods whatdaheckisSango-sandoing–"

"Yamashita-san! Please return that!"

The secretary made a swipe for the tablet, which Shizuka quickly returned to her. "Where – where did you get that?"

She cradled her tablet to her ample chest, causing Shizuka's eye to twitch. "Oh, Sanae-san sent it to us about twenty minutes ago."

"Us?"

That got her attention. As far as she knew, the only one to receive this _thing_ was the secretary Suwako Ayanami. Then again, she had been cooped up being public relations officer for the past five hours…

"Oh, I mean us secretaries. She uploaded it to our network."

"Network?"

The secretary looked around, taking in the engrossed bridge crew members. Suddenly, the Navigation Officer swore and turned to Shizuka. "Taichou! I need to go check on the RADAR mast! My crew just reported that it's not working!"

"Hai, Hai. No need to shout, just go."

"Thank you Taichou!"

She sped off, racing down the steps for the open deck. With the navigator gone, the secretary gestured for Shizuka to follow her. The two relocated to an isolated corner of the bridge, where the voice tubes couldn't pick up their voices.

"Ok, I'm not sure if I can tell you this, but I guess this is something that you might want to know. The secretaries of all the ships of Yokosuka Marine High School have this network among us, where we can update each other on things that are happening to each other. That way if anyone gets into trouble, we can always track them by way of their tablets."

"So, it's like Facebook for you guys? With the location updates and all?"

"Yes, you can put it that way."

"Is it secure?"

Suwako Ayanami took a moment to consider the question. "Well… it depends on the secretary in question. Whoever gets access to our tablets gets access to the network. That's why I was so worried just now when you took it from me without asking."

"Ah… sumimasen."

"Domo, Yamashita-san. Well, to answer that question, all of us are under oath to never let anything out."

"And with a membership that big, that would be pretty impossible."

"Well, don't just count us out! We secretaries can keep secrets too, you know."

"…I hope so… By the way, just call me Shizuka-chan. I'm fine with it. What I want to know is if that tablet of yours is bugged, and whether you are supposed to report to someone else that I may not know of through that tablet of yours."

Suwako Ayanami blinked several times at the captain's probe. "What do you mean by that, Shizuka-chan?"

"Exactly what I said, Miss Secretary. Your tablet is a security risk." Shizuka shifted her stance, letting her weight rest more on her right as her hands went to her hips. "You yourself said that anyone with access to the tablets could dig out all sorts of classified information. Anyone who knows how could be sitting on a huge pile of stuff that shouldn't be there. I myself have concerns whether anything recorded by you holds classified information. If it does, then that's a risk, you see?"

"Captain, I do hope you understand that I would never betray you. In, fact, why would you be worried? You wouldn't be worried about classified information… unless you _are_ holding classified information."

Shizuka didn't answer, simply letting the silence drag out between them. Before the secretary could follow up on her accusation, the voice tubes came to life. _"Engine room to Conn!"_

She walked over, standing by the voice tube. "This is the Conn speaking, what is it?"

 _"_ _The boilers have finished warming up and are ready to go. Do we have any further orders?"_

"Have your engineers ready to answer bells in fifteen minutes. That will be all for now." Shizuka stepped away from the voice tube, and headed for the telephone. "Attention, this is the captain speaking. We will be setting sail in fifteen minutes. All crew members, please report to your respective stations." With that, she set the telephone back down on the receiver.

"Captain!"

The red head turned, one questioning eyebrow raised. "Yes?"

The Chief Navigator stumbled in, panting from her apparently quick trip. "Captain, the problem with the RADAR mast has been resolved. Some wires were chewed through by rats, but we were able to have it fixed."

"That's good to know. You might as well get ready; we're starting in a few more minutes."

Shizuka sighed. Bringing her cup of coffee to her lips, she grimaced at the taste of the now-tepid coffee. Yet again, a certain black folder with gold letterings fluttered across the back of her mind. Kanji leapt out at her, howling for her to understand their significance.

 _Of course, I get it. I get how so many of them, how so many people had to be put through this shit all for the sake of getting this information to us. But what more can I do? I can't trust the secretary network, I can't complain to my sensei's, their own signatures endorsed this shit that I've read!_

 _What do I do?_

"What did they do?" she whispered out loud.

"Pardon?"

Shizuka jumped. Beside her, her deputy captain's mouth was in its straight line as usual, though perhaps the corners were drooping a bit lower than they should. She brushed frazzled hair behind her ear as Watari Mitsuki nursed her own cup of coffee.

"Just wondering what the supply crew did to this coffee, it's really great!"

Mitsuki raised her eyebrow. "The Shizuka that I know never liked drinking coffee before."

"The Shizuka you knew before never went through this sort of stuff before. Somethings they just don't really cover in Field Camp, do they?"

"Too true. For me, this thing is just another one of those factory-made powdered-mix instant coffee. There's too much bitterness, not enough sugar, and someone spiked the cream."

Shizuka could almost feel her jaw touching the floor. "How? How'd you know all that from just a few tastes?"

The Deputy smirked. "Next time, Shizuka, when you go down to the mess hall for your meals, you might want to stop and chat with the cooks. You might learn something useful." Glancing aside, the Deputy stepped closer to the Captain, whispering just loud enough for Shizuka to hear. "It also turns out that creamed corn we had last night for dinner was supposed to be devilled ham. I placed the report in your room."

Shizuka sweatdropped. _She couldn't have…_

"I must say, your choice of magazines is _so_ not my type. I'd rather have some someone cute to play with than those hunks of meat."

"Ahahaha… You still haven't gotten a reply back from him yet, haven't you?"

Mitsuki's face coloured brilliantly. "S-shut up about that already, Shizuka! Besides, have you seen Shimizu-chan? It's almost time for us to set sail."

"No, I haven't. That's odd, I thought she said she would be coming by?" Shizuka turned towards the front of the ship, facing the voice tubes. "Well, we can't afford to wait for her. Those people down there would make noise, which none of us want."

Taking her place in front of and off to the side of the ship's wheel, she braced herself for the commands to give.

"All crew members to their positions! Crew members at the bow, prepare to leave the harbour!" All around the ship, her voice bellowed from the voice tubes. Several passengers jumped at the sudden sound, but they quickly settled down.

"Raise the anchor!" As the mechanised systems began their work hauling the twin anchors out of the water, the bugler at the bow started her playing. "Both sides, take her out nice and slow at 220 degrees. Maikaze, setting sail!"

The deck thrummed with barely noticeable energy as the ship's twin turbines came into action. Powered by the triple boilers, high pressure steam pushed against the inner blades of the turbines. This in turn, turned the drive shaft for the ship's screws.

The twin propellers of the Maikaze started out slow, slowly accelerating as they strained to move the 2500+ ton destroyer out to sea.

On the docks, a few local children shouted and waved as they ran after the departing ship. Shizuka hardly spared them a glance, but otherwise ignored them. Her Chief Torpedo Officer waved from the bridge at the children, smiling as she did so.

 _"Chief Navigator, operations!"_

"Chief Navigator, operations!"

 _"Both sides, standard speed ahead, no problems. Compass bearing 220 degrees."_

Her chief navigator gripped the wheel tighter as she made a slight course correction. "Understood. Chief Navigator, both sides, standard speed ahead, no problems. Compass bearing 220 degrees." The ship slowly began picking up speed, climbing to 18 knots and holding.

 _"_ _The ship is UN-der-WAY!"_

Heaving a small sigh of relief, Shizuka looked around her bridge at her crew. With the ship now clear of the confines of the harbour, there was still some time before the they started hitting the rougher seas. "Mitsuki-chan, could you please gather a small team of public relations officers? The passengers might start trying to feed the fishes soon."

"Aye, aye, captain."

Mitsuki turned on her heel and raced off, heading deeper into the ship.

"Alright, Chief Navigator, set a new course for the floating city of Maruyama."

"New course for Maruyama, aye, aye captain."

"Chief Torpedo Officer, Chief Gunnery Officer, prepare a schedule for a mock anti-surface drill."

"un?"

"Since we're going to have these useless people on board, we might as well show off some of the things Japan can do. Impress them a little."

"un!"

As the two officers huddled under their blanket again, Shizuka just facepalmed and carried on with her next set of orders.

"Secretary?"

"Yes?"

"I need to talk with you about something."

As the captain and the secretary left the bridge, the Chief Navigator sighed. Apart from the pair of hikikomori in the corner, she was well and truly alone.

"Back to the daily grind…"

* * *

"Oh shit!"

Sanae ran panting down the gangway. Leapfrogging over a pile of baggage at the bottom, she broke into a sprint for the ship.

 _How could I forget?_

Too late. She could already hear the bugling over the splashing waves, and the ship was already making headway. Soon, it would out pace her.

She kept running anyway.

 _How could I_ forget _?_

There was a bunch of kids in the way. She burst through them, scattering the children as she neared the end of the harbour. She was closer now, just enough for the bridge to see her. There was hardly anyone on deck, with most operations being carried out below decks.

"Mitsuki-chan! Mitsuki-chan! I'm here!" She yelled as hard as she could. Running along the harbour, it was now or never, before the ship was gone for good.

But there wasn't anyone there. The night time lighting conditions were too bad for her to see inside the darkened bridge. If anyone were there, the only way they'd see her is if they were looking in her direction.

However, there was no response.

"Mitsuki-chan! I'll see you soon!"

All she heard in response was the dull roar of the ocean and a child crying off in the distance.

Sanae slowly lowered her hand, letting it dangle by her side.

* * *

 _What's wrong with me?_


	16. Somewhat trustworthy

**Really sorry about that delay. I was out the whole day yesterday and was far too tired to do anything but sleep by the time I returned. Anyway, here we are!**

* * *

"Bloody hell!"

Sanae screamed, kicking at the ground. The _Maikaze_ was gone, its stern lights bobbing in the swell of the sea. Even at night and from this distance, Sanae could still spot the red and green navigation lights on the bridge, as well as the little pinpricks of white light from the portholes.

She couldn't say the same for herself.

 _What is wrong with me?_

She could feel it, a sense of dissatisfaction in herself. Why did she even bother joining Yokosuka Girls? She could be out there, doing something else other than playing agent on a ship full of girls. Why did she even sign up to be a secretary?

She was no bloody Spanish Inquisition. If she was, she could have been the head of the organisation, with Mitsuki serving under her! They'd be Commissars (Morals Committee), with everyone else bowing down to her!

Not this!

Here, she was stuck serving a captain and her deputy. The two of them held combined power over her. If she were to try and do anything of her own accord, she would have to have them both out of the way. In this day and age, it was near impossible to pull off.

 _Why?_

She hated it. All the lies and secrets that she held, all the things she could never say. Like, how many phones had she bugged since her arrival as the _Tanikaze_ 's secretary? How many surveillance equipment had she planted all over her ship, seeding their daily load of information to the tablet weighing down her sling pouch?

How many people had she potentially betrayed?

So far, her power and equipment – and that of her fellow peers – had been used mostly for trivial purposes. Ayanami-chan had been most helpful in uploading all information to the network these past few days. Since most bugs overheard nothing of importance, the amount of information flowing around the network was full of nonsense useless trivia.

At least she had managed to gain access to Mitsuki's phone's records.

It's something.

Turning around, she started walking towards the _Tanikaze_. There was so much to do, and so little time. Sango's thumbdrive was still in her skirt pocket and she would need to "borrow" either the radio operator's or the sonar crew's computer to access the files.

Why the thumbdrive anyway? A SD card would have been easier for her to use, since all she had in her possession was a tablet to submit her reports with.

 _I have to return to the ship._

She forced her leaden feet to move, pushing the children aside even as one of them tried to block her way. Without thinking, she shoved him to the side, stepping past him and quickening her pace. Already, the sheer multitude of things she needed to do was flowing though her mind.

 _1 Check up on the surveillance bugs  
2 Access Sango-san's thumbdrive  
3 Consult the Committee  
4 Finish up the acquisition forms for the Captain, as well as start work on that set of papers  
5 Establish contact with the sleeper agent on Chichijima  
6 Go and contact the fishermen for Sango's dinner party  
7 Make sure there are enough supplies for the party. Mimi-chan has already gone and invited everyone on the island to the dinner party. Hopefully it would raise the morale for these people  
8 Investigate the foreigners who are stranded on the island. One of them is suspicious…_

When she blinked her eyes, Sanae found herself standing on the top deck of the _Tanikaze_.

 _Huh? Since when did I get back? Was I that spaced out?_

Shrugging to herself, she made to go below decks when her phone ringed. Swiping her finger across the screen, she raised it to her ear. "Moshi moshi~"

 _"Sanae-chan! There's something I need to tell you! Where are you?"_

"Yukari-chan? What is it? I'm already on the ship–"

 _"Please come down to your cabin now!"_

The urgency of her friend's tone spurred Sanae into action.

"Hai! I'm on my way! What is it?!"

She jumped onto the stairs, sliding down the railings with her skirt billowing for all to see. Not that she cared at the moment. Besides, they were all girls.

Reaching the bottom, she grabbed the corner of the wall, slingshotting herself around the bend and into a running start.

 _"I-I'm sorry, Sanae-chan."_ Another turn in the corridors. She simply sort-of spring boarded herself off the opposite wall and continued running with most of her momentum intact. Sleek grey metal rushed past her even as she gripped her phone in her hand. Despite how loud the wind was in her ears, she could still hear Yukari's voice blaring from the phone's speakers.

 _"It's just…"_ Down another flight of stairs Sanae went. She dropped her phone into her pocket. Holding onto the railings of the stairs, she braced her feet against the insides and skidded down them.

Her cabin was just down this corridor. The door was open, the cabin lights turned on and streaming out into the passageway. Yukari was standing in front of the opened door, lowering her phone even as her legs trembled, threatening to give out from under her.

"Sanae-chan…"

Sanae reached her friend, enveloping her in a hug as the girl started to sob. Between all the coughing and the choking, Sanae couldn't make out what Yukari was blubbering about.

"Shh… what is it, Yukari-chan?"

She petted her friend's back, even as she turned her head to look inside her cabin. She was pretty sure she switched off the lights before she went out…

Oh. Oh dear.

What she saw shocked her to the core.

* * *

In the dark of the night, with barely any light from the moon, it was a boring watch to hold. "Oi, Miller."

"What is it, Sarge?" The man replied, flicking his cigarette over the edge as he did so. Turning, he squinted as he tried to make out his partner in the near darkness. His biceps rippled as he shifted the weight of the submachine gun in his hands. The FN Minimi was painted a matt black, and had a telescopic sight installed. Otherwise, it barely differed from the standard-issue, save the scratch marks over its body that denoted a lifetime of service in the field.

"How many times have you done this?" The speaker was obviously female, and yet there was a certain harshness to her voice. Despite Miller's best efforts, he could barely make her figure out.

"Uh… far too many times to keep track of, actually." He shifted the gun in his hands again. While to most it seemed justified, having to hold onto an almost 7kg light machine gun for nearly three hours straight. For Miller, however, it was more of an expression of nervousness.

"Mm… same here, Miller. I still remember that day when you joined us, back in Romania." _Oh shit_. Miller tensed up even more, his hands gripping his gun even tighter as he struggled to school his face into something more impassive.

"Back then," Sarge continued monologuing, "You were so much fun. Such a tease around the camps… But now? Just _look_ at how far you've come."

She even closer to Miller, close enough for him to make out her face in the dim lighting. The angry scar that marked a knife attack tearing open her cheek rippled as she scowled. Despite the artist's (best?) intentions, the liberal use of black Sharpie markers to sketch the facsimile of a tiger's face on her failed to hide her undoubtedly murderous expression.

"L-look, Sarge, I wasn't in on this, I _swear!"_ She stepped closer, holding her M14 carbine in her right hand while grabbing Miller's collar with her left. Even though she was shorter than him, Miller still felt like he was being lifted off his feet.

"Then tell me, _WHO?!_ " Miller staggered back, and Sarge stepped forwards, forcing Miller ever closer to the edge.

"I-I don't know!" He tried to take another step backwards and bumped into the safety railing.

Sarge stepped even closer, inside Miller's personal space.

"You sure about that? You absolutely, _positively_ SURE?"

"Yes! Yes! I'm sure I don't know who!" All this time, Miller had managed to keep his gun positioned between the two of them, doing his best to ignore a certain _flatness_ of his aggressor pressing against his hand.

Sarge held the position for a moment longer, then with a huff, released him. "Fine. If I find out that you had any hand in this whatsoever, I will find you and I will skin you alive. Am I clear?"

"C-crystal, Sarge." She looked away, still gripping her rifle but doing nothing more other than stare out into the night.

The two of them stood like this for a moment longer, with Sarge unbearably close to Miller and Miller doing his best to cringe away from her without giving away the fact the he was cringing.

"S-Sarge?"

"Huh? What is it?" She looked back at Miller questioningly.

"Um… if you don't mind…"

"What?"

It was at that moment, when everything stopped making sense for Miller.

With a sharp yelp of surprise, Sarge moved forwards, impacting into Miller. At the same moment, the safety railings moved, Miller releasing far too late that it was not a railing at all but instead the access gate built into the railing.

The two of them shouted in alarm as they tumbled through the air. It was quickly silenced by the cold Pacific Ocean.

* * *

She was not having a good time.

Having just reached that conclusion, Munetani Mashimo sighed as she entered her cabin. Since she was the Guest of Honour on this ship, they had cleared out one of the private cabins for her use.

 _It's probably bugged._

Going to the extents of debugging the entire room would be too suspicious for her purposes. She was supposed to be the Blue Mermaid's liaison officer to the Prometheus Research Organisation. They had secured the help of one of the directors, and as a result a portion of Blue Mermaid forces had been assigned to guard the ship.

Having the help came at a price. There was a need for a liaison officer on board to coordinate efforts with the escorting vessels, or at least, that was what they had told those uppity researchers.

However, Mashimo didn't trust them.

There was something _off_ about the ship ever since she had stepped on board. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something tingled at the base of her scalp, an itch that demanded to be scratched. The previous liaison officer had encountered an unfortunate accident at sea. She had gone swimming as part of her usual assigned fitness regime when a skipper from the mainland hit her.

The rider had apologised profusely, and fully cooperated up till the trip back to the mainland. He was unable to give his statement due to unfortunately suffering from a heart attack while still conversing with the Blue Mermaid officers.

The body had been handed over to the Blue Mermaid officers. The crew had explained how they had fished her out from the water, with the medical corpsman the officers took with them pronouncing her dead on the scene. He announced the same thing for the pilot of the skipper.

And now, Mashimo couldn't help but wonder, what would happen to her?

She had transferred from her ship, the _Atago_ , to the lab ship within 48 hours of the incident, leaving her with little time and no signal coverage for the entire journey. The best she could do was a short radio message to her mother and to her sister. Whether it got through or not, she couldn't tell.

A knock on her door.

"Munetani-san, the Captain sent me to get you, since you seemed to be taking quite some time–"

"Give me five more minutes, Miller."

"–Ah. Ok… Um if you don't mind, I'll just wait outside. I can't go back without you or the Captain will have my head…"

Mashimo walked over to the backpack she had brought along. Reaching in, she fished about for a moment before pulling out an object.

Holding the reddish brown scrunchy in her mouth, she quickly ran her comb several times through her hair. Once satisfied that most of the knots were gone, Mashimo gathered as much of her hair as she could in her hands. In front of her, she observed herself in the compact mirror on the table.

"…not today…"

Letting her hair go, she stuffed the scrunchy in her skirt pocket as she grabbed her naval peaked hat. Just as she put it on, a grunt out in the hallway reminded her of a certain long suffering security guard.

"Coming!"

Before she could step away from the table, she seized the bottle of perfume from one of the female researchers and sprayed a little on her neck.

The soft scent of roses entered her nose.

Checking herself in the reflection on last time, Mashimo unlocked her door and stepped out. Nodding to Miller, she closed the door behind her and started heading for the captain's quarters.

He had extended an invitation to her for a welcome dinner in his cabin.

 _Well, we're all professionals her anyway. Worst comes to worst…_

Mashimo's hand brushed subtly over her right skirt pocket, confirming that the small spray bottle was still there.

 _I can probably take him if he tries anything._

* * *

"It's unlocked! Please, come in!"

Miller stepped back from knocking the door, and gently pushed the door open. Gesturing towards the doorway, he held it open as Mashimo nodded to him.

"Thank you, Miller."

"You're welcome, Munetani-san," he replied under his breath, just enough for only Mashimo to hear. "Good luck."

She stepped over the threshold and entered the cabin.

It was decorated rather nicely, the first thing catching her attention being the polished mahogany office desk. It was neatly organised, files and folders all lined up along one side of the table. A single document was in the process of being shelved as the captain turned view his visitor. He hurriedly returned the file to its rightful place and rose from his chair.

"Ah! Munetani-san! Please, if you'd excuse the mess. I'm afraid I haven't had much time to tidy up the place."

"It's fine, Captain. I'm most grateful for you extending this kind invitation to dinner. I hope that my attire is wholly appropriate for this occasion?"

"That it is, Munetani-san. If you've give me a moment, please…"

The Captain reached for the telephone and made a quick call. "Hello, could you please bring up the meals now? Thank you."

Replacing the receiver, he walked towards the centrepiece of the room. "Munetani-san, please take a seat." As she walked over, he pulled out a chair for her, next to the head of the conference table. The conference table was a bit small, capable of seating maybe 6 people comfortably. As it was, there were only two places set at the table.

She smiled as she sat in the offered chair, thanking the Captain as she did so. She noted how his hand seemed to linger on her chair for a fraction longer than necessary before releasing.

Taking his place at the head of the table, the Captain smiled. "So, Munetani-san. May I ask, how are you settling in?"

"Quite nicely, thank you. One of your researchers was kind enough to send me a gift on my arrival, and your staff have been more than exemplary in helping me move my things in."

In truth, the people she was referring to were the security guards. They had been hired to protect the ship, from what she didn't know. Of all these people, the only ones she bothered to remember were their scarred leader and her butt monkey Miller.

The leader's name was unknown to all but her close associates. For everyone else, she insisted on being called "Sergeant". Her most distinguishing feature was a particularly long gash across her face. It stretched from the right corner of her mouth, curving slightly upwards towards her right ear, stopping at her cheekbone.

The dossier provided to Mashimo was sparse on the details, only citing Sergeant's involvement in several international incidents. Her last listed assignment was a stint in the Eastern Baltic region to provide PMC support in retaking a ski resort under siege by terrorists.

Miller, on the other hand, was a relatively new recruit to the PMC business. His record extended only to the same operation that Sergeant took part in. The dossier had nothing else to provide.

With this little information and her own suspicions, Mashimo felt justified being this paranoid in her surroundings. The captain smiled as the server placed the platters of food on the table. "Thank you, my dear. Oh, don't worry! We'll handle the dishes ourselves." He hurriedly cut off the server, who was about to lift the covers off the platters.

With nothing more to do, the server bowed and left the room.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Mashimo gathered her thoughts. "Well, Nishizumi-san. I must thank you for all the hospitality you have shown me so far. However, I feel that we must get down to business on current matters."

The captain grinned as he stood up. Applying the corkscrew to the wine bottle, he grunted as he started twisting the corkscrew into the stopper sealing the bottle shut. "Munetani-san, work is fine and all, but on your first night here, let us enjoy ourselves. Work can always start tomorrow. If you don't get a day of relaxation, you'll collapse. Some of our staff found this out the hard way, you see."

"Perhaps," Munetani replied as he pushed down on the handles of the corkscrew, popping the cork out of the bottle. "But then again, I never did rise to my current station by slacking off when my efforts could be better put to use."

Nishizumi took Mashimo's wine glass and started pouring wine for her as well. "Indeed! Miss Munetani, indeed! Well then, since you wish to get down to business so quickly, then I suppose we shall."

Accepting the pro-offered glass of wine, Mashimo took a sip as the captain started opening the covered platters. A small feast appeared before her. There were two steaks, a lobster thermidor, a small salad, and two bread bowls of soup.

"Y-you shouldn't have…"

"But why not? Especially when it's your first day on this ship? We needed something special to celebrate." The captain sat down, raising his own glass of wine. "To a long-lasting relationship."

Mashimo raised her glass and lightly _clinked_ it with his. "Likewise."

* * *

Giggling, she stumbled out of the captain's cabin. Surprisingly, there wasn't anyone waiting outside to guide her back to her cabin. For some reason, she found the empty corridor quite hilarious.

"ehehehhe…" Leaning against the walls to stabilise herself in a rather choppy sea, Mashimo placed one carful step in front of another. She could feel her high heels, not entirely use to them as it was, wobble as she tried to keep her balance.

A rather goofy smile spread across her face as she held onto the safety railings. Her legs wobbled, threatening to give way at any moment. She hadn't made another 12 more steps before she collapsed, sitting on her knees with her legs splayed out. Clutching her stomach, she resisted the urge to start emptying out that delicious lobster thermidor.

"Munetani-san."

She could hear it, a voice that spoke volumes of strength. Looking up, she found a hand reaching down from the infinitely bright lights of the corridor.

Groaning, she raised an arm to shield her eyes from the light. _So bright…_

"Come on, Munetani-san. You're drunk." The hand reached further, grasping her hand.

"…am nsot…"

But she still let herself be pulled up anyway. Now standing, she let herself lean against the person. He was so _warm_ and solid, and she could feel the hardness of his packs through that shirt he always wore.

The person draped her arm across their neck, and braced their hand on her hip. "Come on, Munetani-san. We need to get you back to your cabin."

"Bud I don't wanna…"

"Come on…" The person took a step forwards, forcing her to take a step as well to keep up. "We can't let you sleep out here in the middle of the corridor, can't we?"

"Mm… sleep…"

She was able to get around the corner before her dinner finally came up, splattering across the person's shoes.

A burning sensation filled her throat and went up her nose, causing her to choke and cough. The fire lingered, burning as she hacked up what remained in her stomach.

"Done? Come on, Munetani-san…"


	17. We will come back

**I'm really sorry about the lateness of this update. I will be travelling over the coming weekend and won't be able to update. As such, please enjoy this double-length chapter to make up for lost time.**

* * *

"What… what do you mean he's not in?"

"Well, you see Norita-kun, Kevin was accepted into Yorktown Naval Academy. He's a submariner now, the Chief Sonar Operator in fact of the _USS Harder_. "

Norita gave an imperceptible sigh as he leaned against the phone booth. "Well, I was hoping to speak to him. Guess not then."

The lady on the other end of the phone laughed lightly, "Don't worry about him, Norita-kun. He'll do fine, you know what happened at Field Camp." Norita suppressed a shudder at the memory. _So much fire… so many snakes…_

"Y-yeah, Field Camp. Well, thank you Adele-san. It has been nice talking to you."

"Please, just call me Oka-san. I am your mother, you know."

"Hai, Oka-san."

The lady's faint giggles drifted into his ear. A little bell sounded, telling Norita that his time was running out. "Anyway Oka-san, I sent a parcel to you. I think it'll reach by next Wednesday? I had it shipped out a few days before we set sail."

"Why thank you. You're not going to tell me what's inside right?"

Norita chuckled, "Well, I _could_ do that I guess. It's a– "

 _"_ _Please insert 200 Yen to continue talking"_

 _Ah dammit._

Norita hung the phone back on the receiver as he leaned against the side of the phone booth. Outside the box was a wrinkled, grey haired woman clutching her cloth bag to herself. She stared at him as Norita heaved another sigh. Stepping aside, she let him open the door and walk out, watching him as she did so.

"That boy… was speaking English…"

* * *

Nishina looked at the boy. The boy was seated at a table in the mess hall, a cup of bug juice held loosely in his right hand. His head rested on his left arm, watching the drops of condensation roll down his cup. The boy had been seated like that for the past half hour, just staring into space as the I-201 sailed through a relatively calm sea.

The I-201 was now underway. Having left the Ogasawara Islands, the boys were on their next mission, whatever that was. The captain had yet to announce it to the rest of the crew, and the whispers were already starting up. Rumors had it that the submarine was either going to take part in a classified mission, the captain was going to commit suicide and wanted to take everyone with him, or the mission was to defend against a surprise attack by the mission partners.

Despite all that, the atmosphere hadn't yet fallen too far. Most were hopeful that whatever was going to happen next, it would be manageable for everyone involved.

Having sailed through a storm that stretched into the night and the next morning, the slowly setting sun had finally broken through the cloud cover. When the sonar technicians had reported surface noises decreasing to pre-storm conditions, the captain had ordered the submarine to the surface.

The Navigation officers had hoped that since the storm had been predicted to end by sun rise, they wouldn't lose too much time by submerging after 2am. The storm ended up continuing for longer than expected, which slowed down the travel time by _a lot_. The I-201 may have been designed to travel underwater at high speeds, but that was not taking into account fuel economy.

On the surface, there is less water for the submarine to push through, so less energy would be required. However, it takes more energy for the submarine to push through the water when fully submerged, since water is much more resistant than air. Thus, when travelling underwater, the battery supplies the submarine had would be drained off much faster than if they were on the surface. Only by travelling at a slower speed could they conserve their limited battery power and still make headway.

They had been blessed with a really calm sea after the storm, which many seasick boys had been grateful for. As a preventive measure, the ship doctor Kaburagi had everyone issued a seasickness pill, with detailed instructions on how the use them. The idea was for people to use it if the I-201 had to face such weather again, be it on themselves or on their seasick friends.

As if sensing that someone was looking at him, the boy tilted his head to look up at Nishina through his hair. The silence continued to drag on.

"…what?"

Nishina continued looking at him.

"…oh come on, it's not that…"

The only response he got was a raised eyebrow.

"I mean, it's not my fault I got into that much shit while I was away…"

"Oh really?"

For some reason, the two boys felt as if somewhere out there, a flock of snowy owls had just keeled over and died.

Ignoring that strange sensation, Nishina continued looking down at the boy. "Then kindly explain to me, how you managed to get a total of THREE charges of assault and attempted break in, not to mention TWO more charges of excessive noise and being a public nuisance?"

Sakamoto sighed. "Look, I was trapped in their house. I had to get the film to the captain before sunrise so he could decide whether to wait for the Akashi or not. So the only thing that I could do at the time was to make my escape. It's not like I went after any of the girls…"

Sakamoto could see Nishina's other eyebrow slowly climbing up his head to join the first. "Oh come on! Why don't you believe me?!"

Nishina allowed the tiniest of grins to appear on his face. "Because you are you, Sakamoto-san."

"What on Earth are you trying to say–?!"

"Nah, its nothing. I just wanted to see how you're holding up, given everything that has happened and all."

"Other than having half my guts puked out, I'm fine." A wry grin flitted across Sakamoto's face. "If anything, it's your assistant you need to worry about, not me."

A gloom settled over the table. Nishina quickly scanned the room. The only people he could see were Sakamoto and him. The last of the cooks had disappeared back into the kitchen to prepare dinner for the crew over fifteen minutes ago. The secretary had poked his head in the door about ten minutes ago, but left just as quickly.

He slipped into the bench opposite Sakamoto, leaning over the table as he did so. "Yeah… I guess I should… I mean, the guy worries me."

Sakamoto stretched himself out as well, bringing himself even closer to Nishina. They were close enough for him to lean his forehead on Nishina's, which he proceeded to do. "Mm… I still remember what you told me about the scars. He really has no idea how they got there?"

"Yeah. I thought it was self-harm at first, but given what he's described to me, he's just as surprised as me on how they got there. They don't look like they were made by tools. Most of the scars looked like fingernail marks…"

"Maybe he was stressed out in the past and did that to relieve himself? I used to do something like that as well, you know."

Nishina sighed. He let his head droop, resting it against Sakamoto's. "Maybe, but well… some of them are _weird_. Like, impossible-to-make weird."

"How so?"

Nishina grasped his left arm with his right hand. "Look, if you were to grab your arm like this, the most natural way to di it would be like this right?" His left arm was rested on the table, palm facing upwards while his right hand's fingernails gripped downwards on the underside of the left arm.

"Yeah? What's wrong?"

Nishina pressed his fingernails in for a moment, before taking his hand away to show Sakamoto the already fading crescent moon marks. "Look, they point outwards. On his arm, the scars point _inwards_."

* * *

Using a gentle pressure on the tube, the last drops of glue were squeezed out and applied onto the piece of wood. Without even looking, Nakamura flicked the now empty tube of superglue over his shoulder to join other similarly depleted tubes in their garbage bag.

Moving quickly before the glue could dry out, Nakamura brought the piece of wood into place, setting it down gently and making final adjustments as best as he could. With a bit of firm pressure, he released the wood. Once done, he got up from his seat and took a step back to admire his work.

Sitting on the desk, in all its matchstick and superglue glory, was his latest masterpiece. To be honest, he had no idea why he had dug this old project out. The blueprints had been lying around, the resources were all here, and it took him only two days to finish it. The main project he had been working on was left to the side, though the little barbettes had been made and prepared for installment.

Heaving a little sigh, he turned around to survey his own room. The place was supposed to be shared with VIPs, if any, so for now it was all his. Which was why the entire floor had been colonialized by the unending sea of matchstick boxes, emptied tubes of superglue and their plastic casings. Off in a corner, a bunch of disassembled display cases waited for whatever project that was finished.

Next to the cases, were three tied up trash bags worth of matchheads. All matchsticks had the heads cut off so that they wouldn't get in the way. The matchstick bodies were then sanded and cut down to whatever required size Nakamura needed. Still, he really needed to clean this up. That incident while at port had led to utter embarrassment in front of the captain, Norita and a civilian rescue team.

The civvies had told him that his room was a fire hazard waiting to happen, and he knew that himself. The matchheads were the most dangerous, but everything else would be just as bad if anyone were to try and light a flame in here. Honestly, Nakamura had no idea how he was able to stand all the wood dust in the air. The trip around the islands had done some wonders to him, Nakamura supposed. It definitely helped him clear his head, something he really needed.

That and the captain of the _Akashi_ , Sango Sugimoto, was really cute.

 _Bad! Bad boy!_

The boy winced. _Hold it right there, young man. What would your girlfriend say if she saw you on the island?_

A light rapping on the door caught his attention. "Yes? Come in."

The familiar, mousy face of the Secretary poked around the door. His one visible eye quivered as he looked around the room, taking in the scattered projects and materials littering the place. "U-um… I n-need to talk t-to you…"

Hesitantly making his way in, Kouda tiptoed his way past the unfinished model of the _Yahagi_ , closing the door behind him as he did so.

"Well? What is it?" Nakamura was surprised by the sudden appearance of the secretary. Normally, the boy never interacted with anyone, much less talk to him of his own violation. Since this was the first, he was obliged to humor Kouda.

Kouda stepped over another scale model, this time of the _HMS Temeraire_ , and stood face to face with Nakamura. It would have been intimidating if the secretary hadn't come up to just below Nakamura's armpits.

"Nakamura-san, I hope you are familiar with Hashimoto-san?"

 _Norita-san? What does he want with him?_

"Yes? I have talked to him on multiple occasions, what is it?"

Kouda took in a deep breath, steadying himself for what was to happen next. "This matter is about him. I… am not sure what the captain's thinking, including him into the plans. He holds no real power in this hierarchy, and in fact, is a much more loose-cannon than anyone would like."

Nakamura considered Kouda's words. "While that's true, I wholeheartedly trust in the captain, and–"

"Bullshit."

 _Umm… what?_ "I'm sorry, what did you–"

"Bullshit." Kouda looked up at Nakamura, staring the Deputy in the eye. "What you just said was utter bullshit. None of us trust the captain, Nakamura-san. Everything he has done so far, up to this point, have all seemed to be a farce. Mistake after mistake, stupid decision after stupid decision, it's like he's not even QUALIFIED to be commanding this SUBMARINE!"

The secretary panted, having finally said what had been on his mind for so long. Nakamura had through the rant taken a few steps away from the irate Kouda. "K-Kouda-san, let's just _calm down_ and think this through, ok?"

Seeing no reaction from the boy, Nakamura tried to steer the conversation towards safer waters. "Kouda-san, while I do not pretend to understand the captain's thought process, whatever he does _has_ to be for the good of all of us. It is his own obligation as a captain from Toumai Boys Marine High. Talking about Hashimoto-san though, I think I do have an idea for why the captain wants him in on it."

Nakamura took a seat at his table, the secretary sitting on his bed. "The thing is, Hashimoto-san is… for lack of a better term... special. I assume you have not had the chance to see his character review?"

Kouda shook his head.

"It's edgy as hell. The guy lost his family really young, and was raised by a foreign family on Tsushima. The foreigners looked after him for 3 years, and after that returned to their own country. Hashimoto-san had to live in the care of some landlady, and from what I gathered, didn't have much of a happy education, while in both Elementary School and in Middle School."

"So? I hardly see why this would be of use to the captain. Sure, he's had a bad childhood, but that's not exactly what the captain needs right?"

Nakamura held up his hand. "This is the exact reason why the captain wants him in. The fact that he had to go through so much as a child means that he should be mentally mature. On top of that, he was in the top 5% of Field Camp. He's mentally mature, is known to be very capable in any situation, and has received combat training. He's everything the captain needs."

"Combat training?"

"Yeah," Nakamura confirmed. "Combat training. You don't think that KABAR knife he carries around is just for show, do you?"

* * *

"Guh…"

"Get up sailor!"

"No Momma, I don't wanna…"

"Get UP!" A crashing noise followed, as well as the splashing of water onto the floor.

There were some grunting sounds, and an irritated curse. "Bloody maggot, I said GET UP! Stand on your OWN!"

"Hey girl~ You're really pretty…"

 ** _"_** ** _SMACK!"_**

"Ow, miss. That hurt…"

 ** _Thunk_**

The two speakers, or at least the one still sober, turned to look at the source of the new noise. Yahachi sat before them, slumped against the casing of battery bank 1084. He straightened his back, sitting up once more before throwing his head once more at the bank.

Yahachi made to do it a third time, but caught them watching and resumed his work with the wiring. "Oh don't mind me. Carry on whatever you two were doing."

Imai Tadashige released Noshima's collar, letting him fall onto his ass as he walked to where Yahachi sat. There had been a fault reported in the battery banks, and since the Chief Engineer needed to delegate tasks, Yahachi had been assigned to go check it out. Of course, given how he had been branded a saboteur, a pair of guards were assigned to accompany him.

The thing is, the engineers were all stretched really thin. Loads of stuff on board needed retuning or repairing, and in addition, they still had to conduct the daily equipment checks.

That's why instead of having a bunch of engineers escort him, Miwa had two volunteers, one from Torpedo and one from Engineering to escort Yahachi. As such, the constantly drunk-off-his-ass Noshima had been "volunteered" for the task. Given the extremely high risk factor when these two were put together, Imai had no choice but to tag along.

Resting his hand on his left hip, Imai tried to peek around Yahachi's shoulder, "What's the problem with this bank?"

"Nothing," Yahachi sighed. "Looks like we need to check the next row."

Imai poked his head in and did a quick check over the wires. "Well, the sensors did say the fault was in this set, so it should be somewhere here. Did you do a diagnostics of the entire system?"

"Yes, Imai-san. Ran a check on the secondary circuits as well, all currents are within expected operating ranges, and none of the parts here demonstrate any sign of corrosion whatsoever."

"That's odd…" Reaching for his logbook, Imai thumbed through it till he came to the needed page. "Is the bank we're supposed to investigate Number 1084?"

"Yup," came the reply.

Just as Imai was considering going back to check on the sensor board again, a buzzer went off. All three boys looked up as the wall-mounted speaker crackled to life. "Attention, maintenance crew. The supposed fault has been identified to be due to crossed wires in the sensor board. There is no fault in the battery banks. Please return to your previous post."

"Huh."

* * *

"W-wait! You really mean–"

"Yeah, I couldn't believe it at first, but _hot-damn!_ "

Today, the radio room was much busier than usual. The boys were usually restricted to an allowance of 8 telegrams per trip, each containing no more than 160 characters. For the first time in the sortie, the submarine was going to surface to collect any incoming radio messages. Naturally, boys who were not on watch and had some free time to spare had gathered outside the radio room to collect their mail.

While the boys outside buzzed excitably about what they could be receiving, on the inside, one severely overworked and underpaid radio technician frantically prepared the radio channels. He had exactly fifteen seconds on surfacing to raise the antennae, tune in, get the correct channel and watch the fax machine do its job.

As he stood by the radio equipment, the little depth gauge installed in this 10m by 5m closet of a radio room slowly climbed. The tilt was barely perceptible, as such the radio techie could easily balance himself. His headphones firmly over his ears, all he had left to do now was wait for the all clear…

 _"_ _Raise the ESM mast."_

 _Now!_

The boy flicked off the cover over the little switch, activating the hydraulics. The radio antennae, alongside other antennae slid out of their waterproof sheath and into the air. His headphones were briefly overwhelmed by the wash of static. He twisted the dial slightly clockwise, and just barely caught the three beeps of the radio bandwidth allocated for schools. Punching in the three-digit code for Toumai Boys Marine High School and the five-digit code for I-201, there was a moment when no reply came over the transmission.

He had just started to panic when three beeps sounded. Over to his right, the fax machine started clattering away as the first messages started to pour in. The first three messages were addressed to some people in Engineering. The fourth was for the Deputy, and _wow_. He'd be the target of the combined jealousy from three-quarters of the crew, going by what this message contained.

If only he could have someone like the Deputy does…

Releasing the breath he never knew he was holding, the boy made to take off his headphones off when the warning tones started sounding. He turned to his equipment.

Underneath the "RADAR warning" label, a little yellow bulb was pulsing.

"Oh shit."

* * *

 _Just another day on the bloody watch._

Watanabe made the last turn on the locking wheel of the hatch, pushing it up and open as he did so. A few trickles of water fell on him, running down his arms and tickling his armpits. Shuddering slightly, he started climbing the ladder. Just as he poked his head out the tunnel, something odd caught his eye.

There was something off about the mast…

Pulling himself out, Watanabe did the usual quick visual inspection of the surroundings. Except for ocean, ocean, more ocean and a beaching whale, there wasn't anything interesting at all.

"Alright, Taichou. All clear."

The captain joined him a few moments later. Pulling out his logbook, the captain started to crosscheck the meeting point coordinates with those in his book. While Yonehara did so, Watanabe went over to check on the ESM mast.

The ESM mast, alternatively called the "Periscope Type Radar Mast" was a roughly 4.3m black metal pole extending from the top of the sail with a radio receiver and transmitter on the tip. Apart from serving as their only means of communication with the rest of the world, the mast worked as an early-warning RADAR for the submarine. It would pick up the frequency of any and all radio bandwidths, classify them according to their wavelength and from there determine direction and approximate distance to the emitter.

Looking at it, there still seemed to be something off with the mast. As such, Watanabe started climbing the sail. He made it to the top without incident and started to make his inspection. Carefully hugging the pole, he inched his way in a circle around the base, staring up at it and trying to see what's wrong with the mast.

Just as he was about to give up the search and go back down, he spotted something _wrong_ with the tip of the mast. Tying himself to the mast, he pulled out his spyglass and peered at the very top.

Right there, stuck onto the very top of the mast, just beside that of the radio antennae was a little black device. An extremely small, square object about 5cm across sat there. From what he could make out, the item was duct taped on with black duct tape, making the top of the mast appear slightly fatter than it should.

"Taichou! There's something you need to see!"

That one line caught Yonehara's attention fast. It took the captain just under 20 seconds to join Watanabe on top of the sail. Another thirty seconds to explain the situation and the order to lower the radio mast was passed down. When the tip was brought to eye level, it was stopped and the two made further inspections of the device. Since it was wrapped so tightly in duct tape, there wasn't much choice but for the captain to call up the damage control team.

Two more sailors appeared. While Watanabe had spotted them in the mess on separate occasions, he hadn't many chances to talk with them before. They merely acknowledged the captain's presence and started work. One of them donned a bomb suit, his friend lashing him to the mast with Watanabe's rope. With that done, his friend handed him a pair of scissors and tongs and the boy got to work.

Carefully cutting away the duct tape in layers, he paused and returned his friend the scissors. The boy resumed his task, this time unwinding the duct tape. The tape's time spent in water had removed some of the stickiness, making it relatively easier to remove. As the last piece of tape came off, he used the tongs to grip onto the object and pull it free of the tape holding it up.

At this point, his friend ushered Watanabe and the captain down to the top deck, where they watched the boy's figure moving about the top of the sail. Whatever he did next, Watanabe had no idea. For all he knew, the boy could be doing anything from performing magic to dissecting the device like some bio specimen.

The submarine was still moving along, since they needed to reach the meeting point before the cut off time, wherever and whenever that was. As such, Watanabe spent his time alternating between watching the damage control team at work and watching the submarine pushing 14 knots across the ocean.

At 5.17pm, the damage control team announced that they were done. The Deputy Nakamura was called up as well, and with that the five boys took a close look at the device that had been discovered. It was a plastic waterproof box, which when opened revealed a series of lithium-ion batteries connected to a plastic casing. The damage control team determined the plastic piece to be a radio tagging device.

Someone had lashed a whale-tracking device to their ship.

* * *

"Combat, Sonar."

"Combat aye, Captain speaking. What is it?"

"We have a positive sonar contact, relative bearing of 90 degrees. Evaluate as a diesel engine. Requesting permission to shift position North West to get a cross bearing on contact."

The captain looked over the tactical display in CIC, showcasing a live display of the marine traffic in the region.

There had been a radio blip in the direction that Sonar had just described a few minutes ago, but a RADAR sweep revealed nothing.

"Alright, do it. Helmsman, come to new course zero-three-six, all ahead full flank."

 _"Aye aye, captain."_

As the IJN Sarushima started its turn, the captain took a quick look around the CIC. Her crew were all trained professionals, people willing and ready to serve their proud nation. They worked at their terminals, constantly updating the tactical display with real time information. However, no matter how busy they looked now, she could attest to her own experience that the current CIC she stood in now was not the chaotic mess it was famed for.

 _And hopefully, it'll stay that way._

* * *

 _In a certain submarine in the Ogasawara Island chain…_

"FUaah!"

The table vibrated as he slammed down the can. The white can clattered across the table, contents gone. It tumbled off the table, rolling to a stop amongst its brethren. The other person in the room sighed as he sipped from his can. This time, he managed to avoid snorting the drink out of his nose like what happened during his first attempt at beer.

The room the two of them sat in was lit by an electric white light from the ceiling lamp. A table was pushed up against the wall and a metal single-sized bed opposite it. A small bookshelf was crammed next to the table just to fill up the already limited space in the room. Scattered across the table were a few papers and a black file. A black and gold fountain pen lay in its case, a gift from a loving family. The bookshelf itself held several files of papers, all of them the various invoices, reports, acquisition forms and various pieces of paperwork crammed in that tiny space.

Of the two, one of them sat in a wooden chair, rather wasted from all the drinking they had been doing. The other sat on the blue-coloured bed, face red but otherwise still holding his composure.

 _Crack-pop! Hiss…_

The first person leaned back, chugging vigorously on his own can. A bit of the drink trickled past his mouth, running down his face and onto his already stained shirt.

"SUgoi! Twhis the best shit I've had in wveeks!"

He, for the first person was a boy, slammed the half empty can onto the table where it stayed. Spinning around in his chair, he sat in a reverse style while his arms hung lifelessly from the backrest. "Oi, Nakamura-san, can I call you Naka-chan?"

"No." The boy raised his can to his mouth, concealing all but his nose and eyes from view.

"Ne, Naka-chan. What do you think of this? All this bullshit that's been happening so far?" The boy reached behind him, grabbing the half-empty can and started sipping from it.

"Well, the fire below decks was suspicious enough. There has been another issue brought up by the engineering team as well. They had noticed the electronics in their section on the sub go out several times during our travels. Fortunately, it didn't happen during our engagement with the I-58. In fact, the shortages only happened after the engagement, as we were sailing for Chichijima." Nakamura, the Deputy Captain reported.

"Hai, hai. Go and draft up that report for me when we're done. What I wwant to know is," here the boy leaned in close to Nakamura, tipping the wooden chair forwards in order to do so. "How's your life outside school? What's your relationship with your friends like? Do you have that _special_ someone?"

"C-captain! That's private!" Nakamura hissed, taking another polite sip of his Asahi beer. He shivered as the liquid went down his throat, burning away at his insides.

"Humour me, please." The captain tossed his now empty can into the pile of cans on the floor, while he leaned backwards to grab another beer. He grimaced as his hand closed in on empty air, realising that his share of the 12-pack beer carton was gone.

"…I have a few friends outside of Toumai. Last I heard, one of them was working at a gas station in Gunma prefecture. Another was taking classes in theatre. And for me, well, since we don't get much contact in submarines, I've being working an old hobby of mine."

"Your matchstick modelling, right? Can they float?" Yonehara looked at Nakamura's share of cans, to which Nakamura sighed and tossed his captain one of the two remaining cans he had.

"They can, since I made them watertight and they're made of wood. But unless I design them with floating in mind, the ships will be more likely to capsize than anything else. Most of them don't have any ballast to hold them steady in the water, you see." The captain Yonehara nodded at his deputy's words, popping the can open as he did so. "What about you?"

"Me?" He took a long drag from the can. Wiping away the stray droplets of beer on his face, Yonehara grimaced as something unpleasant came to mind. "Nothing much, to be honest."

Nakamura raised an eyebrow. "I just told you about me. It's not fair if you don't say anything about yourself in return."

The captain sighed. "You know, he would have said something like that as well…" Drifting off, a wistful expression settled over the captain's face. "But still, it's all history now. Water under the bridge, so to speak."

The deputy raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

On seeing his deputy's pointed stare, Yonehara sighed and caved in.

"Well…"

Nakamura leaned forwards unconsciously, sipping from his can as he did so.

"I took part in Field Camp, like everyone one else here. Met this guy; Mountain Rhino, we called him. You know, one of the things we had to do was secure the boats with some rope and drag them up the beach." Yonehara said, as he leaned backwards with his eyes closed.

Nakamura nodded. "I remember such an event, though I don't think I saw you there."

"Mm, mine was on the 12th day, yours was one the 14th. Anyway, we were hauling this yacht several meters up the beach and were throwing down the rope so that Takane could untie it. When out of nowhere, there was this unearthly roar. Like, RWAR! Something like that."

Yonehara gulped down another mouthful before he continued. "We all looked over, and there he was, in all his Mountain Rhino glory charging up the beach with a rope over his shoulder. He had looped the rope around twice to make it stronger, because what he was doing was just unbelievable. He came up the beach hauling a two-seater yacht along! He wasn't doing it slowly or steadily like what we all did. He just did it in one smooth charge up the beach at speed."

Nakamura raised his eyebrows at Yonehara over the can of beer. "I find that a bit hard to believe, Yonehara-san."

"Please, just call me Daigo-kun. I don't mind." Twisting around in his chair, Yonehara tugged on the drawer under his table. From inside, he pulled out a thin black file with golden kanji embossed on the front cover. In one smooth action, he tossed the file to Nakamura, who caught it with his face.

"OW!"

Despite the sudden book to the face, the can of beer was still firmly grasped in his hand. Nakamura's left arm was rising to block the file, but on realising that the beer was still in his left hand, he hesitated.

That was all that was needed for the file to hit him square in the face.

"Oh shit, sorry Naka-chan!"

"AHH! Don't call me that!" Setting the beer down, the Deputy reached up with his hand to nurse his sore nose. "What was that for?!"

"Sorry, sorry. Wasn't exactly thinking through on that one… Anyway, please read the file."

Despite the other boy being his superior, Nakamura gave him the stink eye as he bent over to pick up the file from where it had fallen on the floor. Resting it in his lap, he studied the front cover.

"Gene Transfer Experiment for the purpose of maintaining life in an airtight environment and adapting to low oxygen environment?" Nakamura gave his captain a questioning glance, but the boy gave no reaction.

He flipped the file open.

"Gene Transfer Experiment for the purpose of maintaining life in an airtight environment… The aim was to allow astronauts to survive extended periods in space with reduced need for sustenance. This would allow for less resources for the same duration of space flight…

"…Researcher Tanaka Amai discovered potential in a genetically modified fungus. The fungus has been developed to infect its host and take control of its host's body. This is done to reduce the host's attempts to prevent the fungus from modifying the host's genes. Gene modification by the fungus includes increased durability, as well as a reduced metabolism of the cell…

"Testing on mice mostly successful. The conversion period for the mice takes up to 5 hours to complete. Once completed, the mouse demonstrates a greatly reduced level of required substances to survive. They have been recorded to survive in oxygen percentages as low as 2%...

"Testing has been moved to human subjects. Subjects were acquired as per specific body types… Subject 6 is a 184cm tall male, of Japanese origins. The subject weighs 78kg, age 15 years old. Blood type 'O'. Has no known allergies or diseases… Attached is a picture of the subject…"

Nakamura paused in his reading as he took in the picture printed along with the report. The boy was wearing nothing but a hospital gown. Despite that, he was quite bulky, with massive arms and legs that gave a sense of being filled with power.

"Is… is this him?" Nakamura asked.

"Yeah. It is." Hearing Yonehara's dry response, Nakamura looked up at his captain. "Oh, don't worry. I've reread this sufficient times to desensitise myself to it." The captain shrugged, though he drained off his remaining beer in one big gulp.

"I see why you called him Mountain Rhino," Nakamura quipped, to which Yonehara shrugged yet again.

"Eh, I wasn't the one who came up with it. Was his buddy Desert Fox that came up with that nickname." He looked around, a seeing no more beer cans left for him, Yonehara groaned loudly and tossed aside his empty can. "Look, I'll spare you the details. He had been brought in under the context that this was a biomedical research into human physiology. He'd always been hoping to major in the Biomedical field, you see. Well, the researchers injected him with the virus and simply waited for the thing to do its work.

"The thing that they had created was actually a mix of two types of pathogen. The fungus and the virus. The fungus's job is to suppress the host's natural instincts to prevent the conversion, while the virus's job was to infect the cells, edit the cell's DNA and reproduce to infect more cells. An aspiring researcher called Hashimoto Yuki discovered how to make the two pathogens cooperate in a symbiotic relationship.

"For Mountain Rhino, the process took 3 days to complete. During this time, the fungus suppressed all attempts by his body to absorb sustenance, save the barest requirements to keep him alive. Afterwards, even his brain was converted, according to samples taken by the researchers. From that point on, he did nothing other than sit in the Northernmost corner of the room and face towards the North."

Yonehara closed his eyes and sighed. "The thing is, once the virus has converted that much of his body, there's no going back. The researchers observing the process noted that there was a point of no return after the 8th hour had passed. After this point, the virus would have converted so much of the body that should all viral cells be destroyed, he wouldn't be able to survive.

"They found this out on the first three subjects. Apparently, save your body managing to fight off the virus and fungus, there was no other way to stop the change."

Nakamura frowned, "But that's not really safe, isn't it? After all, since their goal was to maintain life in low oxygen environments, they ended up killing off the person who was being infected."

Yonehara closed his eyes. "Yes, that's true. Without any means of stopping the virus from converting the brain, eventually the virus would take over the fungus and corrupt the brain, pretty much leaving the victim brain dead. Which is why they went on to create Version 2."

Yonehara reached over, flipping pages until he reached the one he wanted. "This new version gave the fungus a limited level of penicillin-like chemicals. The fungus created a chemical designed to kill off the virus when attacked. Of course, you can see how they screwed it up."

The Deputy narrowed his eyes as he took in the words on the page. "Problems noted with Version Two include the fungus killing off the host when too much of the converted body cells were killed by the chemical. So, let me guess, they did a Version 3?"

"Yep," was Yonehara's reply. "In fact, they used another one of my friends for their shit again."

He flipped to the desired page.

"Test subject 28 is a 157cm tall male, of Japanese origins. The subject weighs 70kg, age 15 years old. Blood type 'O'. Has no known allergies or diseases, blah, blah, blah. We used to call him Desert Fox, 'cause of his blonde hair and his sneakiness. There wasn't anything safe with him around. One time we dared him to steal a PI's underwear and throw it into the ocean. He even stole the set that the guy was wearing that night and sent his entire set of boxers overboard. Was really hilarious the next morning…" Yonehara tapped on the printed picture with his finger.

The boy depicted was dressed in a hospital gown as well. He was a shorter than Mountain Rhino, but the most distinguishing feature of him was his hair. The blonde hair had been shaped with a whole lot of hair gel to stick out at the sides like a pair of triangles stuck to the side of his head. Certainly, there was quite a resemblance to a fox with that appearance.

"He had been pulled in because they caught him snooping. He had managed to break past their security and stole some important files. Of all the files, only one made it out. The rest were recaptured by the organisation. The one file that escaped, was the one that's on the next page.

Yonehara flipped the page for his Deputy. "The Version Three. In another viral-fungal breakthrough by Researcher Hashimoto, they discovered how to make the fungus and the virus properly work together. The fungus had no chemical to kill the virus. Instead, it adapted to the virus and took control of it. This means that the researcher managed to create a fungus that could take over two different species at the same time."

Nakamura winced as he read the descriptions. The level to which the researchers had managed to break genetic modification on humans to was astounding, to the point of creating a mind slave with a bioweapon.

"Well, there was _one_ thing that they didn't take fully into account," Yonehara mused out loud. "The fungi had developed some form of hivemind. Like how ants are able to interact with each other like they are of one mind, the fungi replicated this to some extent. The first subject Version 3 was given to was a lab rat. When they gave it to a few more rats, they noticed how once one rat had explored the maze and discovered where the cheese was, all the others who had never interacted with each other before were able to complete the maze by using the shortest path identified by the first mouse."

Nakamura started crushing the empty beer can in his hand as he continued reading.

"When the virus was given to human subjects, the subject displayed a sense of docility, not unlike that of a lab rat. Even though, he still expressed some desire to escape from where he was. As more subjects were given Version 3, their individual desires to escape seemed to keep increasing. None of us are sure whether anything has happened to them yet, though the presence of the virus on this boat is quite alarming."

Nakamura looked up, realising something. "Wait, what do you mean by, _on this boat?_ "

Yonehara raised his eyebrow. "Exactly what I said, there is a virus on the boat. The corpsman reported to me spotting the carrier rat on the ship. It was running down the hallway when he saw it, but he couldn't catch it before it disappeared into the piping."

Seeing Nakamura's confused face, the captain elaborated. "The virus that infected the lab rats turned their colouration as well. It is a pale brown colour with a dark orange stripe running down its back. They still maintain the red albino eyes of their previous lab rat forms though."

By this time, the twisted remains of the aluminium can were twirling around in Nakamura's hand. "You're telling me that we have a possible virus on this submarine, and you didn't inform me beforehand?"

The captain looked at him. "I also only just heard about this from Kaburagi-san. Why did you think I asked you to join me here tonight for a drink?"

At least the Deputy had the decency to look bashful. "Well, what about the crew? What will you tell them?"

"It depends. Until the carrier can be found, I've no choice but to pray that no one is infected before we catch and kill that thing. The best I can do right now is to impose stricter pest control methods, but what we already have should be sufficient. It's just a matter of time now."

Meanwhile, back in his own room, Kouda Kinzo reeled back as he took in everything that he had just seen.

Bugging everything, even his captain's room, had finally bore fruit.

 _"What the hell do I tell the others?"_

* * *

 **Fun fact: This entire last section was written in one setting on a sleepless night. All 3k words of it. Such fun. Much wow.**

 **So sleepy...** zzz


	18. Unstable

**Author's notes: Sorry for that delay! I had this on the backburner for a while. Since I didn't bring my laptop along on my trip, I couldn't do any writing. As a result, this chapter had to be delayed for the final proofreading. Please, enjoy!**

* * *

Kouda blinked. Of all things, this was something he had not been expecting.

His first instinct was to grab his tablet and start uploading everything to the cloud. From his Captain revealing the twelve-pack of beer he had smuggled on board, to his superior officers drinking in the Captain's room, to the huge chunk of classified information that his Captain had spilled.

 _The classified information…_

The secretary watched as the progress bar filled. Since the I-201 was travelling on the surface at the moment, it would be a simple enough matter for him to hijack the radio antennae and transmit data to the communication satellite. Satisfied that the files were being prepared for upload, he turned to another matter.

The Captain had given him the thumb drive from the _Akashi_. Inside it was the receipt for the repair work done on the _I-201_. Apart from repairing and replacing the engine blocks, they had the girls fix the torpedo tubes and doors, as well as replenish their torpedoes.

Initially, they had been issued the Type 95 mod 1 torpedoes from the school. However, when the _Akashi_ rearmed them, they had received 2 Type 95 mod 2 torpedoes along with 8 mod 1s.

Kouda booted up his laptop. It was one of those lighter and thinner versions the sales people had been promoting, so much so that he had gone and bought one just days after he received his letter. While the little dots spun around in circles in the almost-universal sign of loading, the secretary checked back on the file preparation.

 _87% complete. Getting a bit slow, these days._

A familiar _ding_ followed as the laptop finished booting up. With the laptop's home screen up, he plugged the thumb drive into the laptop to start transferring files.

He clicked on the "Open file" option and looked back at his tablet. A flashing indicator told him it was done preparing the files. All that he had to do now was to hit the button and everything would be posted up on the secretary network.

Something in the corner of his eye caught his attention.

Turning his head, Kouda scanned the short list of files contained in the thumb drive.

One file in particular stood out to him.

" **Gene Transfer Experiment** "

His finger hovered over the button on his tablet.

All it would take was for his finger to cross that 3cm distance to the screen and tap that "file transfer" button. Such a simple move to upload every scrap of evidence… of what?

His Captain drinking? Divulging of classified information that Kouda was most definitely not meant to hear?

What was he to do?

* * *

"~uwaah…" The boy stretched as he rolled out of his rack. The others in the cabin were not up yet, which suited him fine. Since his time at the farm, the boy had developed a habit of singing in the mornings. It helped jumpstart his mind, sobering up for everything the day had to throw at him.

Twisting his body, the boy reached under his rack and pulled out the drawer. Inside were two small piles of folded clothes. He took the shirt and pants from the left-most pile and shut the drawer. From the cabin to the nearest toilet was just two doors down on the right. A half-familiar tune drifted into his head as he mumbled the lyrics along.

"人はいつしか 神を見出し 高らかに永遠を掲ぐ"

Slipping in, he groped around in the dim red lighting before finding the sink. The boy shrugged off his shirt. A quick grab at the sink found the tap, which started spraying out cold water. He cupped his hands and gathering water in them, splashed his face even as some of it landed on his chest.

"かくして僕等は見出した"

The shock of the cold water caused him to snap to alertness. The majority of the submarine was in power saving mode. While most of the crew were asleep, the power would be turned down to save the batteries as well as helping regulate a certain sleep cycle. Only the bare minimum of lighting was needed, which is why the red lighting was used in the bathroom.

"かくも美しい楽園を"

Of course, he could have just turned on the toilet lights, but that could give away to the others that he was awake. He liked being awake early, when most people were asleep.

"きっとこれこそが理想郷"

A habit born of helping out on the family farm, getting up at ungodly hours to start tending to the crops had become part of his life. It even included getting used to cold water to the face in the morning to get himself awake for the day's tasks.

"その響きは疑いもなく"

Scrubbing the last of the sleep out of his face, he made sure the tap was off as he brushed his teeth. Another habit picked up from the farm: conserving water.

"見出したその頑なさは"

As he brushed, he got hold of the shirt he had brought along and pulled it on, pausing to get the toothbrush out of the way as he did so.

"歯止めさえなくどこまでも"

Pushing his head through his shirt, the boy stuffed his toothbrush back in his mouth as he stopped his singing, hopping around as best as he could to get his remaining arm into the right sleeve.

With that done, he dropped his pants and slipped his legs into the newer set. As he was pulling up the zipper, something caught his eye.

He bit down harder on the toothbrush in his mouth as he put his feet back in their shoes. With that done and his hands finally free, he spat out and gargled his mouth, considering what he had just seen.

Another involuntary movement.

His eyes were drawn to the left this time, to a spot in the mirror. There had been something behind him.

Rinsing off the toothbrush, he gathered his night clothes in one hand and the toothbrush and toothpaste in the other. He took a step towards the exit.

 _Bang!_

In one move, he threw the toothbrush and toothpaste at the light switch. The two items tied together were heavy enough to hit the switch to "on". Simultaneously, he chucked the clothes held in his other hand in the other direction.

They crashed to the ground in a pile of cloth. A low buzzing sound could be heard as the overhead lights flickered on.

Breathing heavily, the boy looked around him. He _knew_ there was something there, something not quite right with the room. Cautiously sniffing the air, he scanned the toilet cubicles one by one. There was no sound nor any sign of movement.

He took a step towards his clothes, half expecting an assassin to jump at him from the shower cubicle to his right.

The boy kept an eye on the cubicle as he took another step.

Then another.

In a burst of movement, he reached forwards, grabbed the pile of clothes and started backing up towards the exit.

 _How embarrassing, if the others were to think I had been spooked by nothing._

But he knew otherwise. Years of instinct keeping an eye and ear out for thieves and the like had honed his senses to the max. If his body felt there was something wrong, then something was wrong.

 _Am I dreaming?_

Yes. That must be it. If everything was a dream, that would explain why he was feeling this way. Completely unlike how he should have been acting.

All scared of a little dripping water.

 **How embarrassing.**

Something in his arms squirmed. Looking down, he spotted a little white and brown head peeking up at him.

 _Aw…_

The little rat cocked its head, leaving him breathless at its sheer _-evil-_ cuteness. The little creature _-vermin -_ looked so pathetic, so lonely, so helpless _-dangerous!-_ that he couldn't help himself.

Squeeing to himself, the boy lifted the rat to his face, rubbing it with his cheek as he made unintelligible sounds.

 _-wrong!-_

Huh? What nonsense was that sudden thought? All he needed was this creature, this cute little mouse, and it needed him as well.

He had to tell the others.

 _-s_op!-_

They needed to help the poor guy out.

 _-pl-as-!-_

He bumped into the toilet doorframe on the way out. The submarine tilted slightly, by just the barest of degrees. It was however enough for the boy to temporarily lose his balance. Rocking to the side of the corridor, he stumbled but kept going anyway.

 _-s_o-_ _- m-!-_

 _-h- -_- - p!-_

Besides, this is all a dream, isn't it?

* * *

"Yo."

Norita looked up from his work to see a figure standing by his rack. Rubbing the sleep out of bleary eyes, he rolled out of bed and sat on the floor. "What is it," he blinked a few times, "Nakamura-san?"

"Nothing much, just heard some shouting from in here and came in. There wasn't anyone else around but you though."

"Oh." _Ah crap, I did it again, didn't I?_ "So, what is it?"

Nakamura took a sip from the steaming mug he held carelessly in his hand. "Just checking in on you, that's all."

"Ah, well, thanks anyway, Nakamura-san," Norita replied, rubbing the back of his neck as he did so.

Nakamura assessed the boy with one eye. Norita was wearing his standard issue Toumai Marine High School working uniform, which was a navy blue cotton long sleeve jumper and a pair of navy blue cotton pants. The usual naval cap that was to go with it for formal occasions lay next to his pillow, alongside a patchwork scarf. While Norita may not have noticed it, or perhaps he simply did not wish to acknowledge it, the jumper was showing signs of sweat having soaked it through.

"Hashimoto-san," Nakamura began.

"Hai?"

"You… are not alright, I take it?" Seeing no response from Norita, he continued. "You've been having… nightmares. Some of your cabin mates have pointed it out to Nishina-san. You're fine when people are around, but once no one is in the cabin, they say they can hear you screaming from the corridor. It worries them, Hashimoto-san."

Norita just looked down at his lap from where he was seated cross legged on the floor. His right hand clenched itself on his lap but otherwise there was no other motion.

"They told us that of the few words they could make out in your dreams, all they can make out was 'oni', 'Tou-san' and 'Kaa-san'. Perhaps you could explain some of this to me?"

Nakamura stepped away from the bed frame, taking a seat on the cold metal floor in front of Norita.

He waited.

Norita's lips moved, but no sound came forth.

Just as the fifth minute had passed, he finally spoke up. "It's… a long story."

"No worries, I have enough time to spare."

"I… well… Ok." Norita took a deep breath. "My parents, Otou-san and Okaa-san, we lived together on Tsushima. Otou-san had bought the house there so as to escape from his life on the Home Islands. Otou-san was a petrol station attendant in, while Okaa-san was some scientist working in Yokohama.

"I don't know when it happened, all I remember was Okaa-san giving me this." Norita shifted in his seat to pull a piece of folded cloth from his pocket. With a firm shake, the cloth unfolded itself into a small, cream coloured scarf. His hands dwarfed the scarf from where it lay outstretched between them.

"That was my last memory of Okaa-san. She disappeared the next day, so when I asked Otou-san, he just told me that Okaa-san was working and that we might not see her for some time." Norita paused again, taking in a shuddering breath.

"…Nakamura-san?"

"Yes?"

Norita took a steadying breath. He squeezed his eyes shut. With his head bowed, and in a soft voice that Nakamura still managed to hear clearly…

"Do you dream?"

Nakamura took a moment to think this question over. _Since he's asking this, I guess it's something important to him._ "Yes, sometimes. Isn't it normal to dream?"

"Yeah, it is. So, is it normal to not dream?"

 _Not dreaming…_

A long time ago, Nakamura had heard something similar.

 _"_ _People with dark hearts have dark dreams. Those whose hearts are even darker can't dream at all."_ Where had he heard that quote before?

"Well, I don't think so. Most people dream every now and then when they sleep, so if a person doesn't dream, it should be expected–"

"That's not what I meant."

Nakamura took a sharp breath. There had been a sense of… _something_ in those words…

Norita continued, "What I meant, was, is it normal for a person to _never_ dream? Not counting nightmares, just night after night of nothingness. Is that normal?"

He lifted his head, causing Nakamura to recoil. His pupils were quivering in their sockets, frantically darting back and forth as if he was searching for a way out. A few tears trickled out of the corners of his eyes, disappearing just as fast as Norita hastily wiped his face with his tiny scarf.

 _Careful…_ "N-no… I guess not…"

Norita hesitated for a moment before reaching up. Holding out his tiny scarf, he slowly, methodically, wrapped it around his neck. It barely completed one circle around his neck before running out of length. Letting the ends of the scarf fall to his chest, he took a shuddering breath.

"Nakamura-san, I believe that you are the only other person I have told this to."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, so please don't go spreading this around, Nakamura-san. I trust you not to share this with anyone else, since it's really personal stuff to me."

It was all the Deputy could do to nod his head in mute agreement.

"So… about just now, I guess I should tell you what that was about. Well…" Norita cast his eyes about the room, trying to spot anyone lurking in the shadows or around corners. Satisfying himself that there wasn't anyone else around, he leaned in conspiratorially. Nakamura did so, such that his ear was barely inches from Norita's lips.

"I still see them sometimes. When no one's around, I see them in my sleep, in my dreams."

"Huh?" Nakamura blinked rapidly as he tried to make some sense of this news. "Wait, you just said that you don't dream, so what do you mean by dreaming when people aren't around–" The answer hit him like a sack of bricks.

"…oh. Not dreams, not exactly." Nakamura looked at Norita, who had cocked his head to the side with an unreadable expression on his face. "Nightmares."

"Yes, exactly that. Nightmares."

A calm silence descended upon the room.

"That last one I had, we were all trapped on board the I-201. There was something out there hunting us, and no one could move or talk or even breathe, everybody just praying that if we stayed quiet and still long enough, our hunter would go away.

"An earlier dream I had was even better. We were still in the I-201 trying to escape somebody. All of a sudden, Tanabe-san was shouting torpedo warnings to us in the bridge. There was nothing that we could do, there were so many torps coming in so fast from all directions…

"… I saw you die."

Norita was silent once more, and all Nakamura could do was look at his silently shaking body.

"I saw everyone die. Save the captain, he was shielded by the planning table. The rest of us… the ammo storage exploded, all the 25mm shells going off like grenades in such a small space… I think I lost something. I couldn't feel anything beneath me, and in my dream I wasn't looking down. I was looking at Nishina-san… his head had been torn off, just jagged and rough edges of flesh left in his stump of a neck. You were dead, he was dead, everyone else was dead. The whole submarine was tilting, water bursting in, putting out the ammo fires but just filling up the room. The water level kept going up and up and up… I was floating, sort of, and I could hear them screaming, everyone else who wasn't gone yet, the I-201 tearing apart and there was nothing left. The water eventually overtook me and I could feel it going in. Strangely enough, I could feel it going into my lungs, but I was too tired to try and force it out. Everything just… faded, you know?"

"…it's ok, it's just a dream," Nakamura hushed as he pulled Norita closer to him for a hug. The boy gripped onto Nakamura's chest, his tears trickling slowly down his face. They stayed like that for a few moments, one lonely boy clinging to the lighthouse in a raging storm.

 _He… saw us die? In detail, too… How could he have managed to imagine that? It's almost as if he saw it from someplace else and was cribbed into his dreams._

Even as he thought so, Nakamura felt the voice recorder in his pants pocket press against his thigh.

 _Kouda-san would be interested in this._

* * *

"Yonehara-san!"

There was an almost frantic burst of footsteps, getting louder and louder.

"Taichou!"

Something skidded to a halt outside the door. All of a sudden, someone started pounding the door with the rapid fire of a machine gun.

"Taichou! There's a situation!"

No reaction. The submarine rocked gently in its partially submerged position, the waves barely making any impact as to the list of the I-201.

"Taichou! I'm coming in!"

The inner wheel of the door turned as the person spun the wheel lock on his side. With the door unlocked, the boy charged into the room. The boy was wearing the usual Toumai uniform, consisting of a blue shirt and sailor collar, and a pair of blue long cotton pants. For some reason or other, he was wearing a medical officer's coat.

"Yonehara-san! We need you! One of the boys has been infected, and we're having trouble… what?"

He took in the scene before him.

The Captain was slumped in his seat, groaning as he held his head in his hands. Despite the best efforts of a drunken man, the boy was still able to spot a beer can poking out from under the bed. A slight list in the submarine had another roll out into plain sight.

"Shout… louder, would… you?"

"Sorry, Yonehara-san, but we need you. One of the boys has been infected and we need help keeping him pinned down."

Yonehara pressed his hands harder against his forehead. "Why… me? Go get… Nakamura…san"

The boy walked over to his captain. "That's because you told me before to only contact you… you **told** Nakamura-san!?"

"Shh! Ow! Don't shout–ghh!" Wincing, Yonehara gripped his head harder as whatever headache he was having hit him even harder than before.

The boy looked down at his Captain. Sighing softly to himself, he reached into his coat and pulled out a small bottle of water.

"Here, drink this. It'll help."

Reaching out, Yonehara held onto the bottle as he tipped it towards his mouth. Despite the pain his head was in, he was still able to force himself to keep taking small sips of the water.

After a while, he groaned and held the bottle out to the doctor. "Here. Thanks, Kaburagi-san."

"You're welcome, Taichou. Now, it's about time you started acting like one."

Leaving the boy seated, he went over to the captain's cupboard. He pulled it open, and a small avalanche of beer cans came tumbling out and bouncing over his foot.

Kaburagi sighed as he shoved the cans out of the way with his foot. He picked out a (relatively) clean shirt and pants for the captain and turned back to the boy. Kaburagi walked over to him and deposited the clothes in his lap.

"Change. Now."

* * *

The boy was awakened by a burst of action. Rolling over, he fell out of the bunk and got up again in one move.

 _How did I get in there?_

The others were changing their clothes as well, hurrying to put on their uniforms. Norita himself always slept with his next-day clothes on to spare himself the agony every morning. Instead, he joined his cabin mate Kashima Yahachi in packing up the cabin.

"What did I _uwaahh~_ " Norita paused to yawn for a moment. "Sorry, what did I miss?"

"Nothing much. There's a cabin inspection this morning, and _someone's alarm_ ," here Yahachi glared at another boy who was hopping around with his boxers halfway on. Norita joined his best friend since middle school in making his bed, flipping the pillow over to hide the drool stains. "Failed to go off. So right now, we need to put away all this shit and make it look presentable before–"

 _Thok thok_

"–the inspector arrives. Oh shit, hurry up you two!"

 _Thok_ _ **thok**_

That last knock on the doorframe was even harder than before. Norita took one last moment to glance inside the personal drawer he shared with his bunk mate before turning to face the entrance.

The last boy got his shoes on and stood-to by his bed. Opening his mouth, he bellowed out, " **At- ten- SHUN!"**

Yahachi stepped towards the doorway. Despite himself, Norita could feel a familiar snake coiling up inside of his stomach. It squeezed, filling him with dread.

 _Oh god, please not Nakamura-san, please not Nakamura-san_

Yahachi stepped outside and conversed with the person standing by the side.

 _And please NOT the Captain. We're so screwed if it's the Captain–_

He walked back in.

 _Well shit. We're dead._

Kouda Kinzo, secretary to the Captain of the I-201, stood in the doorway with a clipboard held in one hand.

"Well gentlemen, how are we today?"

 _How will he kill us? Fast and clean or drawn-out and torturous? Why all the negative thoughts anyway?_

Right. The last time round it was Kouda, they were busted when he dug around and found Taniguchi's stash of Sake hidden in his mattress. Norita could still remember the aching he felt from being assigned to Logistics department for the day.

There had been so much running back and forth to do, so much stuff to carry around the sub.

None of the boys replied.

"Alright then, let's start with you." He turned to Yahachi. "Show me your drawer."

Norita moved aside as the secretary approached. He stepped between the two boys and peered into the drawer. Apart from the piles of clothes neatly stacked and folded, there were few other knickknacks inside. Yahachi had his tiny glider model with folding gull wings and Norita had his scarf and a broken shard of glass, all inside the drawer.

The secretary lifted the clothes with his pen, peeking underneath them before dropping the clothes. He then went to the bed. Making note of the general tidiness of the beds, he then went over to the next pair.

"How are we today, gentleman? Taniguchi-kun?"

The boy in question stiffened and gulped audibly. "D-doing w-well, sir."

Kouda nodded with a soft smile on his face. For all that Norita could care for, it felt to him like a wolf hovering over its crippled prey.

"Alright then, would you please show me your drawer?"

Taniguchi nodded. He stepped aside as Kouda knelt over the open drawer. He peered at it for a moment before looking up at Taniguchi. "I hope you don't mind, but could you please lift up the clothes in here for me?"

The boy paled. His hands shook at he reached for the pile of clothes. Lifting it up, they revealed…

Nothing.

Kouda frowned for a split second before the smile was back on his face. "Hmm, alright then. Thank you very much, Taniguchi-kun." The secretary shuffled his way out between the two rows of boys.

Once he was gone, Taniguchi's bunk mate reached over to his friend and whispered something. Whatever he had said, it seemed to do the trick as the boy visibly relaxed, his shoulders slumping.

"Welp, that was quite an exciting morning," Norita commented. "What next?"

 _"_ _AAHHHH!"_ A boy's scream filtered down the corridor and into their room.

Immediately, all eyes turned onto Norita.

He sighed, "I brought that on us, didn't I?"

They nodded as one.

"Dammit"

* * *

"I think it came from next door," commented Taniguchi. "You wanna go looksee?"

Norita shrugged. "I guess. What about you guys?"

"Anything for better blackmail material," was Taniguchi's bunkmate's reply.

"Whatever you say, Norita-kun," Yahachi said as he got up from where he had collapsed onto Norita's bunk.

Since he was the closest to the door, Norita went first. Stepping outside, he listened for anymore sounds. Just as he was about to turn around and go back in, another bloodcurdling scream came from the room next to them.

It was his first instinct.

He ran.

Norita grabbed hold of the doorframe to stop himself sailing past the room. At the same time, he managed to catch sight of what was happening.

A boy in his uniform was straddling another boy on the floor. It might have been a rather normal sight on a submarine crewed entirely by boys, if not for what he was doing.

Right before Norita's eyes, the boy on top sank his teeth into the struggling boy's arm, blood streaming down his chin. From this range and their positioning, with both of the boys facing the door, Norita could identify them.

The one on top was a boy from the engineering department. A certain Yamada Taiga. As for the one on the bottom, it was rather hard to tell with all the blood and thrashing but Norita had a good feeling it was Ichida Takumi, a boy from the torpedo department.

That was all it took for him to make a move.

Norita couldn't help but shout as he threw himself into the room. With his right shoulder, he rammed Yamada off the boy. The two crashed into the narrow space between bunks with Norita on top. Looking down, he could see the boy struggling to catch his breath. Even before Yamada had finished recovering, he was already fighting back again.

He twisted and convulsed his body as he kicked in all directions. His arms flailed as he clawed at whatever he could reach. Norita winced as the boy carved a four-finger furrow across his arm

He threw himself down again, ramming his elbow just below the boy's ribcage. Bouncing off, Norita grabbed for the boy's hands, forcing them to the floor. Yamada gasped as the wind was knocked out of him for the second time. He started to make some retching sound, but that was replaced by an almost animalistic howl.

Norita cast a glance behind him. There were a number of onlookers in the hall, yet none of them did anything more other than watch.

"You bloody fools! Get him out of–" Yamada broke free, punching Norita in the chest and managed to work his legs between their bodies.

Norita had just enough time to realise what was going to happen, and not enough to do anything about it.

 **Wham!**

Yamada pushed with his legs, kicking Norita off him. There was an ungodly amount of strength behind that kick as it sent Norita smashing into the ceiling. For a brief moment, there was just numbness and a ringing noise in his ears. It took him a few seconds to realise that he was lying on the floor and the taste of blood in his mouth.

Wincing, there was hardly enough time for Norita to dodge. Instead, he only got himself partially out of the way as Yamada sprang from his crouching position on the floor. The boy ended up kicking Norita square in the face, tripping over Norita's body as he did so and crashing against the floor.

 _I can't let him get out! I don't know what's wrong with him, but he needs to be contained!_

Yamada rose into his crouched position and tried to get at Ichida. The boy had the sense of mind to crawl away in the fighting and was even now being helped up by the others.

Yamada snarled, and leap for the boy. Yahachi was already moving to block him when Yamada suddenly fell short, smacking his chin against the ground.

"Get the otwher one out! GO!" Norita shouted, from his awkward position on the ground. He had to sort of twist his body backwards to catch hold of Yamada's legs, and the stretching of his back and lower leg muscles were making themselves known.

"Just lock me in! **GO!** "

Yahachi nodded as he backed out of the doorway. The others started scattering, some of them dragging heavy objects to seal off a doorway with no door.

With his primary target gone, Yamada turned his gaze onto the Assistant Navigator. He kicked, his left foot scraping down Norita's arm. The long sleeves of the uniform helped protect him, otherwise those arms would have been skinned raw.

The boy hissed.

The creature tackling him was an adolescent human male, roughly 5'2". Its most distinguishing figure was the short light brown hair it had on its head, interspersed with streaks of white hair. Their eyes, while retaining the childishness of youth that most members of this species had, were harder than they should be.

"Calm down!"

It spoke, beseeching him to stop fighting. It was a common tactic used by its species to make others bow down to them.

Well, not him! There was no way in hell he was going to be defeated by this male!

The boy snarled, lashing out again with his feet. His hands caught hold of the bed frames and pulled himself up that way. Now in a half sitting position, he was able to enjoy the sight of his shoe-covered foot hitting the human in its face.

The human released him, cradling its face as it retreated a few steps. Instead of climbing back to its two-legged stance, it got onto its hands and knees as blood dripped out its nose.

"Please, calm down. We won't hurt you, I promise."

Huh? What's this? Are you not going to attack me? The boy studied his opponent. The human was obviously injured, given the bleeding nose and the various scratches and bruises it displayed. Even so, despite the injuries that he had inflicted, he was still unable to connect with it.

Couldn't it tell he was the stronger one?

The boy yelled, charging forwards. He threw himself bodily at the human, fingers outstretched for a good grip on his face. His hands scrabbled for a hold, fingers curling behind and pulling at the ears, thumbs pressing down on the closed eyelids. The creature started to scream.

A burst of pain caught him in the lower regions. The sudden distraction was enough for the creature to shift its legs, and it reacted, just as the boy was realizing his mistake and tightening his grip again.

There was a sudden feeling of a force impacting his stomach, and then weightlessness. The sensation lasted for less than a second before he ended up back where he was before, between the bed frames.

Gah! That hurt!

Casting that thought aside, the boy followed with his original plan. He needed to get out of this confined space and to freedom. If he could just get past this creature, then getting out should be simple enough. Just keep going up, isn't it?

 _Blood_

His arms applied strength on the frames, pulling himself up. He got around into a crouched position, with all four limbs in contact with the ground. The human did likewise, adjusting its stance to face him head on.

They both took a moment to appraise each other.

 **Stop this foolishness. Now.**

The boy reeled, shaking his head from the force of that sudden idea. What was wrong with him? This creature in front of him, so nice and peaceful. Why attack?

 _Blood. Kill him!  
_ **Stop. Obey.**

The boy snarled, thrashing his head from side to side. In all this moving, he failed to notice just how close the human was getting until something caught hold of his head. Forced to stop trying to shake the voices out of his head, the boy looked back into a pair of coffee-brown eyes.

 **Stop.**

* * *

Yonehara skidded to a halt outside the cabin. Following after him was the submarine's doctor Kaburagi Ichiro. The only ones there waiting for him were the Chief Engineer Miwa Kenji and the Deputy Nakamura Mitsumi.

"Captain. The Assistant Navigator has managed to contain the victim for the time being," Nakamura spoke. "Kaburagi-san, I hope you brought along the tranquilizers?" From behind the Deputy, Miwa hefted a monkey wrench.

"Yes, Nakamura-san. However, I don't think we will need them for this case, since the subject _is_ contained." The corpsman replied. Even so, he put the white briefcase he brought along one the ground and pulled out a syringe and several vials.

The Captain continued for the doctor. "The thing is, Nakamura-san, Miwa-san, remember the file I showed you that time?"

Both boys nodded.

"The Version 3 of the RATt virus has no known counters, and much information about the virus is unavailable to us," quoted Nakamura as he peeked into the room. The two boys inside were having a liberal stare-down, both parties crouched low to the ground.

"What if I told you that there was a Version 4?"

Nakamura's head snapped around to look at the Captain.

"Are you **serious**?"

Yonehara nodded. "Yes, of course. The thing is, quite early on into the trip, the doctor managed to obtain a blood sample from Hashimoto-san when he first came to him for a bottle of sleeping pills. He analyzed the sample and found strains of the RATt virus in his system. The thing is, the virus is not spreading from him to the others, and for all purposes it seems to be dormant."

Kaburagi nodded from his position on the ground. He had to assume a slightly awkward position in the narrow corridor by squatting with his weight on his ankles. As the submarine rolled in the gentle waves, he grabbed hold of a stray vial before it could roll away while still holding the syringe firm in his other hand.

Kaburagi tucked the vial into its little loop of elastic band as he put a cap on the syringe. "The virus I discovered that is dormant in Hashimoto-san is a variant of the RATt virus samples I have studied before. As everyone present knows by now, the Version 3 RATt virus seems to link all affected individuals to a 'hivemind' of sorts. Their actions and desires are caused by the general will of the hivemind.

"Since lab rats are actually designed to be as compliant as possible, the general will of the hivemind seems to be a reasonable explanation as to why even the lab rats started to show signs of aggression, of wanting to escape, something that is likely caused by the introduction of human minds to the hivemind. Right now, the subject inside the cabin is following the general will by trying to escape. You can see by his repeated attempts to get past Hashimoto-san, which he has been holding off for now."

The Captains peered through the barricade and into the room. Sure enough, the boy had tackled Norita, who kicked him off and sent him sliding back in between the beds. The Chief Engineer peeked over Nakamura's shoulder to try and catch a glimpse of what's going on.

"Hashimoto-san's in bad shape," Nakamura murmured.

"No, we are not going in to help him," Kaburagi spoke, cutting off the unspoken question. The syringe disappeared within the folds of his doctor's coat. "Right now, it's a test. We're witnessing a fight between two versions of the RATt virus. If we can get any data from this that will help us, then so be it."

"Data?" The Engineer spoke. "How are you collecting any _data_? You've got no recording stuff with you."

Kaburagi smirked. "Oh, but I do."

He looked up into the upper right corner of the screen and smirked. "Isn't that right, **Kouda Kinzo?** "

* * *

Off in the distance, Munetani Mafuyu smirked as she surveyed the starshell. Hanging just a finger's width off the water's surface, the starshell was reaching the end of its life. Stepping away from the binoculars, she nodded to the captain as she left the bridge. She climbed down the rope ladder, jumping and landing neatly in the cockpit of her skipper.

As she opened up the throttle and sped away in a spray of foam, Mafuyu was already on the radio.

"Odyssey, this is Mentes. Phase Two of Operation Charybdis has started."

Silhouetted by the dying starshell, the hull of the _Irako_ faded into the darkness of the night.

* * *

 **Author's notes: I really _really_ hate FF. net for not letting us use symbols. There was a whole section using Morse Code that could not go through at all. I had to substitute it with a mix of Morse and clear text, otherwise nothing would show up.**

 **The song "Somewhat Trustworthy" does not belong to me. It belongs to the Touhou circle RD-Sounds.**


	19. 花の運命

**Author's Notes: Once again, I apologise for the delay. We were celebrating Christmas, and I unfortunately didn't prepare anything for you readers, much less finish editing this chapter for its scheduled Sunday update. Here's another double-length chapter as an apology, I guess!**

* * *

Norita gasped. That last attack had been brutal. If he was not mistaken, the boy was fighting purely on instinct, going for natural weakpoints that he could see. That's why Norita took the initiative. He had been briefed by the captain.

Apparently, there was a virus running around on the ship on a white-and-brown mouse. The virus was known to cause people to go berserk and attack others, often trying to bite or tear the skin to transmit the virus to others.

Norita had cracked a joke about zombies. The captain had agreed with him.

Since he had undergone that hellhole of a training regime SPICE, he would be the best person available to counter if anyone was infected. His job would be to respond to any person who has gone berserk by containing them as and when necessary. His superior Nishina Kawabe, the Chief Navigator, had been infected with the virus. The jumping overboard incident was not any fault of Norita's nor Yahachi's, and the captain had confided that Yahachi would not be in serious trouble.

The Assistant Navigator had his mind on the casualty in the room the whole time. With the boy taken away and the nearest possible victims blocked off by a pile of various bulky items – was that a _sink_ he saw in that pile? – there was no one else for the boy to concentrate on but Norita.

It was what he wanted.

That's why this time, instead of Yamada attacking him, Norita made the first move.

He wanted this boy to stop.

He wanted this boy to cease resisting and submit.

Norita moved forwards at a steady pace, keeping his eyes firmly locked with Yamada's as he drew nearer and nearer. The sudden lack of aggressive moves surprised him, but he had to follow through with what his instincts were telling him.

I want you to stop.

I want you to cease resisting and submit.

The boy started shaking, swinging his head side to side as his body convulsed.

Norita was now an arm's length away. He reached out, grabbing hold of the boy's head and forcing him to keep looking into his eyes.

Stop.

Cease and submit.

The boy whimpered. His convulsions slowed down, though they did not stop. Behind him, there came a rustling as something was being pushed aside. Despite that, Norita did not move. He knew what they were here for.

From the right, the submarine's doctor stepped into his field of vision.

Yamada whimpered on the ground, trying to wriggle away from Kaburagi. Norita tightened his grip on the boy's jaw, forcing Yamada to keep his attention on him.

Kaburagi reached down and took hold of the boy's arm. With precision, he pulled out a capped syringe from his side. The doctor removed the cap, and firmly pushed the needle into the Engineering personnel's arm.

Yamada winced. Norita's face remained just as dispassionate as ever, even as Kaburagi finished his task. He pulled out the syringe and needle, wiping the needle with an antiseptic swab as he kept his medical equipment.

Norita stepped back from the boy, releasing him as he did so. The boy gazed at him, before his eyes started to drift to one side as he finally dozed off.

* * *

A slight rustling of leaves and foliage. The cold night air shivered, parting from her mouth in a warm breath of air. A branch was carefully nosed aside with a hiking boot-covered foot. In the pitch darkness of the forest, most people would have been unable to see anything past their own fingertips.

She was unlike most people.

Then again, most people didn't have night vision goggles of their own.

In the forest at night, many things stood still. Apart from the occasional clouds of flying bloodsuckers, and the ever-hair-raising sensation of _something_ looking at you, it was peaceful.

The girl swiped at her hair, brushing off a thin layer of sweat. The massive backpack she carried was just as heavy as it looked.

She resisted the urge to heave her backpack up again as she continued, carefully placing her feet where there were bare patches of damp leaves. Eventually, she pulled out her phone.

While she _had_ memorised the location, it was comforting to have a secondary source confirm what you already knew. Besides, if she was quick enough, perhaps this one signal would go undetected.

It took a while, but the map in her phone booted up to reveal where it thought she was.

From where the girl stood, there was nothing but trees all around her. The small clearing she was standing in was still shrouded in the darkness of the forest canopy. The girl checked her phone again while she set her pack down. If the marker was correct…

With the pack down, it was now easier to see her true figure. Her hair was held up in a high ponytail, the ends plastered to the base of her neck by her sweat. She wore a navy-blue tank top and a camouflage jacket rolled up around her waist. Her legs were clad in a pair of navy-blue track pants with the ends tucked inside her socks. Her socks were an olive green colour, now soaked through by her sweat to turn dark green. The girl's feet were protected by a pair of hiking boots meant for backpacking and rough terrain.

With her night vision goggles still on, the girl started to climb the nearest tree she could find. She reached around the tree, grabbed hold of the bark and made a short jump. With her feet grabbing onto the bark for purchase, she reached higher up the tree and repeated the process.

With a sturdy-looking branch in range, the girl reached out and swung her leg on it. Satisfied that it would hold her weight, she transitioned fully to that branch and began moving along it.

A good five minutes later, she was near the top of the tree, where she had a better view of the surroundings. Her night vision goggles bathed everything in a dim glow, but she could still make out the open expanse of ocean in the far distance. But from what she could see from her perch, the forest would open up to overlook a downslope covered in smaller vegetation. She would have to be careful to avoid falling down that slope.

While she was still up on her perch, the girl could feel a strong wind pushing through her hair. For a moment, she scooted along the tree branch, eventually leaning back against the tree trunk. There had been a brief moment of indecision, but she decided to go ahead with it.

She grabbed hold of her night vision goggles, pulling it off her head as she did so. While the moonlight was not bright, it was enough to give anyone within arm's length a decent view of her face. Small and triangular shaped, she had what her father called "the face of a fox". Her small round nose, thin eyebrows and those soft brown eyes gave her an image of innocence, of silk hiding steel.

Some compared it to a kitsune. Natori Naomi referred to it as her natural trump card.

The AN/PVS-5 was a much older model that had been handed down to her. From her father's friend's father to her father's friend to her father and finally to her. It had been sitting in their storage for over 3 years before they found it while going through her father's things.

Her mother gave her the whole story, of all the conflicts and events that pair of goggles had been through, and if her mother was to be believed, was how she met her husband.

Well, the historical significance of these goggles to her family meant that she had better take good care of it.

The girl sighed as she ran her fingers through her hair. Wet hair with such a cold night breeze would give her a headache by the time the sun came up, not to mention all the knots she would have to deal with afterwards.

What was the window of opportunity she had again? Despite the uproar that the boy she brought in had caused, the girls were still living in the chalet. When she had left, sensei was on night duty, but the bottle of Sake Naomi had left out on the counter had done the trick.

Sensei was gently snoozing on the table, one hand still gripping the Sake bottle as Naomi left the building at 3am.

With that out of the way, there wouldn't anyone else stirring until 6am when everyone was supposed to wake up.

Right now, a quick glance at her watch confirmed that the time was 4.28am. It would take about an hour to travel from where she was all the way back to the chalet, which meant that Naomi could only give herself 15 minutes to finish her task. She hurriedly pulled back on the night vision goggles.

Naomi was about to get down from the tree when she realised something, some sixth sense telling her to pay attention.

There, off in the distance, over the night time buzzing of the insects and nocturnal animals, she could hear dogs yapping.

Crap. Someone must have tipped off the police.

She'd better hurry and get the hell out of here.

Climbing down the tree, Naomi nearly lost her grip at one point and free fell. She arrested her fall by grabbing hold of a branch, practically skinning her hands as she did so. Her right shoulder screamed in pain and she could feel something pull in her right arm.

Naomi bit her lip as a scream threatened to work its way out of her throat. She settled for a whimper of pain. Her grip was failing, she could feel her fingers slowly slipping–

She fell.

With a muffled grunt, she landed on the forest floor, throwing her body to the side as she did so. Naomi could see nothing but a blur of vision, but some instinct in her guided her actions. During that split-second fall, she had bent her knees and tucked in her chin. Next as her feet touched the ground, her body weight was thrown to her left, sending her falling towards the left. Her body was kept in that slightly relaxed posture as it continued its fall, leaving her lying on her side on the damp forest floor.

The girl was momentarily dazed, but she got to her feet quickly enough. She had been unlucky in the fall. The path her body took happened to have one of the tree's roots in the way. Thus, her sides now hurt from the impact it took.

Wincing, she made her way back to the hiking pack. Hefting it up onto her shoulders, she started to make her journey towards the edge of the forest.

She was at the foot of Mount. Asahiyama, and her target destination was the part of the mountain that the road number 240 tunnelled through. There was a relatively open area that she could use for sending a signal.

In fact, she could see it now, an area with sparser vegetation and blocked off from the sides of the road by fences. She had gone past that long ago by sneaking through a weaker section and then hiking her way through the trees to reach this part of the forest.

Naomi resisted the urge to hurry it up. Speed was important, but stealth could not be neglected. The dogs in the distance had gone silent once more, and with this gentle breeze, she could not be sure if they had picked up her scent or not.

Naomi reached the open area at long last. Pulling off her pack, she started to unwrap the camouflage netting on it to reveal its true form: a AN/PRC-117F radio unit.

She flicked a switch, turning it on. Next, as the systems powered on, she set it as per the preset settings. From the little nook she had stuffed it into, Naomi pulled out a folded piece of paper from the night vision goggles.

She had composed the message earlier, during the hurricane that had hit. Amazingly, the chalet that the girls were in was not blow away. Apart from a few leaks in the attic, there had been no problems with the buildings.

Not the same could be said for the houses on the rest of the island. Some of them, of a more traditional design, had been unable to withstand the winds and rain and were damaged by the storm.

If not for the school ships in the harbour, the people would have had suffered for much longer. Instead, within hours, power was restored, houses were being repaired and/or rebuilt and those injured had received treatment on board the ships.

Naomi's volleyball team was shaken by the experience, but otherwise everyone was fine.

The message only took up 124 characters. With that done, Naomi slipped on the headphones as she adjusted the directional antennae she had set up. After a moment of tweaking, she finally found the signal she wanted: the dah-di-di-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-dah-di-di of the transmitting equipment.

Not for the first time, she could feel her heart flutter at the risks he was going to for her.

Out here in the open, there was a certain danger to it. Where she was now, it would be difficult for Naomi to make an escape if someone were to come upon her. From what she knew, there was a certain ship in the area that would make all their lives difficult. The time read 4.49am.

She rechecked the message, making sure there were no typos before she depressed the transmit button.

The moment the message was sent, she packed up the radio set. Everything was stuffed where it should go, the antennae folded up and tucked away.

Off in the distance, she could hear the barking of dogs being carried to her by the wind.

That was a good thing. It meant her scent was being blown away from them, not towards.

With everything where it should be, she made one last adjustment to the set and with the night vision goggles back on her face, she ran.

Five seconds later, the bag burst into flames.

* * *

"Isn't that right, Kouda Kinzo?"

There was a moment of silence. Miwa Kenji was the first to speak up.

"Um, Kaburagi-san. Kouda-san isn't here with us, and I don't think any of us have told him about this."

The doctor smirked. "That might be the case, Miwa-san, but earlier while I was in the captain's room, I found this." From his coat pocket, Kaburagi pulled out a tiny black-coloured metal object. A piece of clear plastic lens had popped out, and the wires were dangling out of the casing.

"I took the liberty of smashing it first. When I first came on board, I was the second person to arrive. The first one was the secretary Kouda Kinzo. When I was setting up shop in the medical wing, I did a sweep to check it of any bugs that may have been planted by the school. I found 3 CCTV cameras, planted in the corners of the room. Another 4 listening bugs were planted in my medical cabinet, my safe and my desk. I simply removed or disabled all of them."

He tossed the object to the chief engineer. Miwa turned the spy camera around in his hands, inspecting what little of it he could. "Well, it's a rather old model. The plastic casing on this thing and the quality of the chips used seems to date earliest at during the 1990s."

The chief engineer returned the camera back to the doctor.

Yonehara, the captain of the I-201, looked up in the corner of the corridor the doctor had spoken into.

"Kaburagi-san, I hope you know what you are accusing Kouda-san of. All we have to go off on is your little smashed spy camera and your word that the secretary was the only one else on the boat. For all you know, it might not even have been him."

"Captain!"

The new voice came from around the corner behind him, muffled by the bulkheads separating the speaker from the four boys. Yonehara turned his head to try and get a look at the new arrival.

There was a sharp intake of breath from the Deputy Captain.

"Speak of the devil…"

Kouda Kinzo staggered to a halt, one hand gripping the grab bars to avoid crashing into the bulkheads. "Captain! Bad news!"

He ran over, panting for breath as Yonehara turned to face him fully. "Yes?" He asked.

"Captain! I've got it!"

The secretary ran up to him, heaving as he struggled to force air into his lungs. "I got it!"

"Calm down, Kouda-san. Calm down. Take a deep breath… that's it… good…" Yonehara rested his hand on his secretary's shoulder. "That's it… what's the matter? What have you got?"

As the captain spoke, the other boys in the corridor craned their heads above the boy's shoulders to try and see what all the fuss was about.

"This."

The doctor gasped.

Hanging from his hand by the tail… was a little white-and-brown rat.

The boy grinned, his face all sweaty and a few small scrapes visible on his arms. "I've got him."

Doctor Kaburagi took only 3 seconds to marvel at the scene before him before bursting into action. He grabbed his briefcase and got hold of a syringe. Screwing in the needle, he then pierced through a sealed vial with the syringe and started drawing out a certain dosage of the chemical.

"Kouda-san, is it dead?" The doctor didn't even spare the others an ounce of his attention as he prepared a third syringe with a new needle.

"Not really, Kaburagi-san. I caught it by the tail while I was in my cabin and just swung it off the floor until it stopped moving. Still breathing, though."

Nakamura could see it, the tiny rise and fall of the rodent's chest in the secretary's hand. "Did it bite you?" he asked.

Kouda shook his head. "No, it didn't. Was quite difficult to catch and it tried to claw me a few times. I managed to catch hold of it by the tail and the end and that was it for him. Just bang, bang, bang off the floor like a paddle ball."

Both Nakamura and the chief engineer Miwa Kenji chuckled at that. "Seemed effective enough," Miwa commented.

"Well, that's possibly one problem solved, but what about Hashimoto-san?"

From within the room, there came a smashing sound accompanied by animalistic growling. Kouda raised an eyebrow as he started swinging the rat by the tail. "What about him? What's happening? Don't they need you in Engineering, Miwa-san?"

The chief engineer shrugged. "I've told them I'm needed for this stuff. Said that it was top secret 'heads of department' stuff." As he spoke, the boys squeezed to the sides to let Kouda past. "Godammit, lose some weight, shipmate."

Everyone but the doctor laughed as Kouda finally reached the blockade made out of several mattresses stuffed into the doorway. The Secretary laughed along with the others, right up until he looked through the holes in the blockade. His eyes widened.

"Is… is that?"

The Deputy Captain nodded as he rested his hand on the Secretary's shoulder. "It is. That's Hashimoto Norita, Assistant Navigation Officer on the right. To the left is Yamada Taiga from Engineering. Hashimoto-san's fighting him to contain Yamada-san in this cabin. Otherwise, he would be causing a lot more chaos outside."

"But… but why? Why is he fighting?"

Nakamura lightly tugged on Kouda's shoulder. The secretary turned around, to find 3 boys looking at him, minus the doctor who was still busy with his equipment. For the first time, he realised what position he was in.

Trapped in a narrow corridor that's no bigger than one-and-a-half person's width, two people on one side and one on the other with him in the middle. One of those people had a considerably heavy wrench resting in his hands, the other two outranked him on this boat.

"What?"

Nakamura gently smiled as he produced from his pocket no less than 5 listening bugs tied together with zip ties. He noted how the secretary's eyes darted over to the items, how they widened as the pupils dilated in shock.

"Mind explaining to us what these were doing in the Captain's cabin?"

* * *

Norita winced as he staggered out of the cabin. It was a complete mess, the bed frames dented and personal effects scattered everywhere.

Yamada had been carried out by the deputy and the chief engineer, as they followed after the doctor back to the medical wing. Right now, Norita had a whole bunch of questions to ask and not a very good mood to be asking them in.

First and foremost, there was one question he had burning in his mind that was most important of all.

"Did I miss breakfast?"

Yonehara shook his head as the two boys walked down the corridor. Already the damage control boys were at work putting the room back together.

"You did, actually. Not to worry," he added, guessing at the expression Norita was making. "I had your breakfast saved for you. But that's because this incident was on my account and not your responsibility at all; don't expect something similar in the future if you _do_ miss your breakfast again."

"Thank you, sir. The thing is, there's something I need to tell you about…" the boy trailed off.

"What is it, Hashimoto-san?"

"It's… it's just… what _was_ it I wanted to say?" Norita muttered, barely loud enough for the captain to hear.

"Not to worry; take your time."

The captain started to climb a ladder, Norita coming up just behind him. "It's on the tip of my tongue! What was I going to say?"

* * *

Kaburagi pulled the rodent out of his coat pocket, noting how it seemed to be becoming more restless.

He dropped it inside a metal tray and pulled out from his drawer a dissection kit. A heavy glass jar sat on his table with some liquid inside it.

With the set of knives next to the tray with the mouse, he drew from his lab coat a syringe with some chemical inside. He then carefully aligned the needle with the rat's major veins, and ever so carefully _pushed in_.

The plunger was depressed, injecting the whole of the chemical into the rat's systems.

The twitching of the rat's limbs stilled, though its breathing continued.

Next, came the messier bit.

Kaburagi Ichiro had just made the first cuts when some urgent knocking came through his door. He sighed as he went over and opened it, with the knife still in his hand. Standing there in the doorway was a certain Assistant Navigator.

"Um… the captain wanted me to be treated for all these cuts, even though I told him not to…"

For some reason, the boy stiffened up and turned as pale as a sheet.

Kaburagi nodded as he ushered the boy in. Surprisingly enough, Norita stayed put where he was standing. The doctor raised an eyebrow.

"B-b-bloody hell! What's with that knife!?" The sudden exclamation jolted Norita into action as he leapt 3 feet away from the door.

"Huh?" Kaburagi had no idea what the boy was talking about, until he looked in the direction of Norita's shaking finger. "Oh… I messed up..."

"Damare!"

Kaburagi chuckled as he retreated into the cabin. "Well," he spoke, "Can it wait? I'm doing a dissection at the moment."

"…"

A smile flitted across his face as the boy entered the cabin. "What? You thought I was going to cut you open?"

"…something like that." He could hear Norita moving the curtains as he peered at the person it blocked off. "How is he?"

"You mean Ichida Takumi? The torpedoman? He's fine, just needs a few stitches for those bites and some antibiotics. Its Yamada Taiga that you should worry about."

"What did you do to him?!"

Kaburagi laughed as Norita spun on his feet to face him. The doctor ignored the boy, however, and resumed cutting open the rat. It's heart and lungs were still moving, but at this point it was more of a reflex action than anything living.

"Nothing much, just some ointment for the bruises and some plasters for the cuts. It's the virus in him that we need to worry about. Right now, we have very little idea how it spreads, and any sample we collect dies off too quickly for us to do anything to it." His brow furrowed as a blood vessel burst, splattering his hands with red blood.

"So… you are saying that the virus is real? Then, what about me? I was in direct contact with him the whole time, will I be infected?" Norita closed the curtains around Ichida, letting the boy sleep in privacy.

"That's why the captain wanted you to come down here. Before you say anything," the doctor paused as he injected another dose of adrenaline into the rat's body. "Your superior officer, Nishina-san, has cleared it with both the captain and I to take on your shift for today. He says it's an apology for what he did that day as well."

"Huh? Oh, right," Norita remembered. On the first night into their trip, Nishina had called him out to take over his position at the wheel while he wargamed with Sakamoto, the Chief Torpedo Officer. It had been the reason why Norita was in a bad mood the next day. He had tried catching a nap during his free time, but ended up being awakened by another nightmare. He had then come down to see Kaburagi for sleeping pills, only to be called to the bridge by the captain so that he could converse with Nishina.

"Because of that, that means you have practically the whole day off. Which means I get to run a few tests on you." Kaburagi finally set down his knife. He then started to inject the body with a formalin solution. With that done, he then opened the jar on his desk and lowered the body into it.

"Give me a second," he continued as he started up the sink. "I need to clean this up." While the gloves were dropped into a disposal bag, Norita continued to look around the medical wing. The first time around, he had been in too much of a hurry to pay it much detail.

The walls of the medical wing were painted white. To the right of the entrance was Kaburagi's workspace. It consisted of a desk crammed into that corner of the room, as well as a set of cabinets for storage of various supplies.

Opposite the entrance were several beds, all laid parallel with the bow of the submarine. Of the 2 beds present, both were occupied. The occupied bed closest to the door was the one with Ichida sleeping in it.

To the left of the entrance were another set of curtains, drawn open to reveal whatever Kaburagi had been doing. It even had a ready water supply.

"That's quite a spacious cabin you have here, Kaburagi-san," Norita commented. The doctor pulled off a paper towel to dry his hands as he turned around.

"Of course, it is! I need the extra working space, and besides that, I live in this cabin as well. Would you please take a seat?" Kaburagi gestured towards his office chair which Norita took a seat in. "Now, what problems are you having?"

Norita rolled up his sleeves, revealing some bruising and small scrapes on his hands and wrists. "He tried to kick my arms when I grappled him. The long sleeves helped catch his shoes, otherwise this would have been a lot worse."

He then reached up to his face and gestured around his ears. "He tried to claw my face as well, and so far, there has been a painful lump on the back of my head, but no dizziness."

Kaburagi nodded. He busied himself with the cabinets, pulling out objects into a metal tray. "Anything else?"

Norita took a moment to consider, "I don't think so."

"Alright then, when you shower, I expect you to return to me with a whole new list of complains so I'll be waiting. Until then…" Kaburagi came back with a bottle of "Tincture of Iodine", some swabbing cotton balls and a pair of tweezers.

"Let's see how much of a pain tolerance you have, shall we?"

* * *

 _"GAAHHH!"_

As the boy's screams filtered through the bulkheads, Kouda shivered. The captain had yet to report to the bridge today, and Nakamura, the Deputy, was covering for him.

How did Kouda know this?

That's because the captain was with him.

"…" He didn't have to say anything, and there wasn't really a need to. After the incident with the infection and the capture of the virus carrier, the captain was hopeful that that was the end of their rat problems. That's why right now, he was turning his attention towards other important matters at hand.

"What was on the thumbdrive?"

To be honest, Kouda was expecting a much more difficult question than that. In response, he pulled out his smartphone and opened the PDF file. "This. It's a detailed file on the project that created this virus. As of now, it has been nicknamed by the scientists behind it as the RATt project, and they consider the virus as unsuccessful."

"That's not taking into account of the version 4," Yonehara replied as he leaned back in his chair. Currently, the two boys were holed up in the captain's cabin. Yonehara had taken his usual chair, and Kouda, the secretary, was seated on the bed.

"Version 4?" There was a puzzled look on Kouda's face. He hadn't seen it in the file on the thumbdrive, and it stopped at the details surrounding the version 3. Besides that, he also had reason to suspect the information given. If the runner Desert Fox had been captured, then how did the information – about Desert Fox himself, especially – get leaked?

"Yes. You weren't around when I mentioned it, but I have reason to believe there is such a case. It's Hashimoto-san that I'm talking about here. You may or may not know this, but on the second day of our trip, Hashimoto-san went to visit the doctor. Kaburagi-san was able to get a sample of his blood and ran tests on it, confirming that there was a RATt virus in it. What was strange, however, was that all the virus cells were dormant, or at least not active."

Kouda ran the idea through his head several times, "From what I know of the Gene Transfer Experiment, the objective was to find a way that allowed astronauts to survive extended time in space with little to no resources. What you are telling me is that all the past three versions of RATt are failures, and that Hashimoto-san is the one success?"

Yonehara nodded as he pulled from his drawer a familiar black file. "That is entirely what I suspect. The past versions all failed, since an astronaut that gets infected by it would be practically useless. He would be unresponsive at best and aggressive at worst, with no means of learning or applying their skills in space. The version 4 seems to get past that by letting the victim keep their personality, their thought processes."

Kouda stared at the captain. "Assuming I believe all that, how can you test it? Trap Hashimoto-san in a water tank and time how long he survives?"

The look Yonehara gave him sent shivers down the secretary's spine, "What a great idea… perhaps I could get the others in on it…"

"H-hey! That's a shit idea! Don't take it seriously!" Kouda shouted as he jumped up. "You could kill someone if you're not careful!"

Yonehara nodded as he plucked a pen from his desk, scribbling down some notes in the folder. "Yeah, yeah. I get it."

"No, you don't! This is someone's life you're playing with!" On seeing the boy's lack of response, Kouda continued. "Tell me, Captain. How many lives are you playing with here?"

"…Everyone's."

* * *

It was sunset by the time anyone went out on the deck. The I-201 had been travelling on the surface for the entire day to make up for lost time, and they were now approaching the rendezvous area.

"Conn, sonar, I've got faint machinery noises on contact bearing zero-one-two. Slow bearing change towards starboard."

"Helmsman, come to new course three-zero-one, engines dead slow ahead."

"New course three-zero-one, speed 3 knots aye."

The slight shift in the submarine's momentum was barely unnoticeable. Shifting just 2 degrees to the left, the submarine described a gentle curve in the water at its glacial speed of 3 knots. It slowed down as the water pushed against it. It was only the barely turning screws that kept the submarine moving. Holding at a depth of 30 feet, the I-201 settled on its new course.

"Contact bearing zero-one-seven, increased bearing change towards starboard."

"Sonar, prep the gertrude."

The crew of the I-201 were all at their posts. The Chief Sonar Operator Tanabe made a hand gesture to one of his subordinates, who nodded and picked up the phone. With the correct switches flipped into position, another Sonar operator gave Tanabe the thumbs up. He repeated the gesture to the boy with the phone. In response, the boy nodded before starting to speak into the phone.

"Captain, gertrude is ready for use."

Yonehara nodded, even though they couldn't see him. He lifted the gertrude phone and depressed the _Transmit_ trigger, "Zulu X-ray"

The sonar operators winced as the "faint machinery noises" suddenly picked up in frequency and volume, practically drowning out the soft murmuring of the ocean. Screws thrashed the water, hitting the hydrophones with a burst of cavitation noise. One of the operators winced as he held his headset a good distance from his ear. Just as Tanabe was reporting this in to the captain, the contact quietened down as it slowed to a halt.

"Thanks, Sonar," Yonehara replied. There came a pause of a few seconds, then a scratchy reply over the speakers.

"Hovel Bravo," replied I-168. The I-201's bridge crew exchanged smiles of amusement. "Welcome to Pandora's Box, old friend. You nearly didn't make it to the party. Your designated coordinates are," he spouted a string of numbers. A quick glance at the map confirmed that it was about 40 nautical miles north west of their position. "We begin the Nightmare Party at two-three-hundred, so you'd better get going!"

"Thank you, Imuya." Replacing the gertrude, Yonehara turned to the boy standing at the wheel. "Set course for two-five-zero, all ahead two thirds."

"New course two-five-zero, all ahead two thirds aye." Spinning the wheel, Nishina deflected the rudders to port even as the motors sped up. The screws picked up their pace, bringing the I-201 to 14 knots in five minutes.

Yonehara grabbed the phone, taking one look around his bridge crew. "All hands, attention. This is your captain speaking. Operation Shrine Maiden is a go, I repeat, Operation Shrine Maiden is a go. All involved personnel are to meet me in the bridge in three-zero minutes. That is all."

* * *

Matsumoto replaced the gertrude phone on its receiver, heaving a sigh of relief. The captain Matsumoto, not to mention the entire crew had been spooked when the speaker suddenly burst into life with the codewords. He had ordered the submarine up to maximum underwater speed, only to belay the order immediately afterwards.

That had been infinitely embarrassing. For the I-201 to have transmitted their gertrude message so clearly, they must have gotten really close to them. Like, less-than hundred-meters from the I-168 close. Sonar swore that they had heard nothing in the I-201's direction for the past two hours. It was almost as if the submarine had come upon them like some grey ghost.

"Captain, it's time to collect our messages," Matsumoto's deputy reminded him.

"Right, right. Helmsman, blow ballast, 5 degrees up on the dive fins. Engines ahead one-quarter. Bring us to periscope depth."

"Blow ballast, 5 degrees up on the dive fins, engines ahead one-quarter aye, aye." The Navigator called to his dive officer, who began turning the wheel controlling the dive fins' angle. Without even looking, the dive officer flicked the master switches. Ballast tanks One and Three were simultaneously vented, high pressure air rushing into them to force the tank out as the screws spun up once more. The submarine rose like a whale.

It took a few minutes, but as the submarine reached 20 feet of depth, the helmsman gave orders to his dive officer to give five degrees down on the dive fins. Like that, the I-168's climb was arrested, levelling itself out just 3 feet beneath the surface.

"Periscope depth aye, aye, captain."

"Thank you, raise the ESM mast," Matsumoto spoke into the hand-held receiver. The scratchy voice of his radio technician responded moments later.

 _"_ _Raise the ESM mast, aye, aye captain."_

The black painted mast rose out of its sheath, coming to 1m height above the surface before halting.

 _I really should have done this first…_

"Raise the periscope." Matsumoto walked over to the periscope tube. Grabbing the snap-down handles, he walked the periscope around, scanning the surface. Satisfied, he snapped the handles back up and took a step back. With his eyes closed, he started speaking out what he had seen. The secretary pulled up a voice recorder app from his tablet, whilst transcribing everything as best as he could.

"Well… The sun's at about 10 degrees from the horizon, there's no vessels in sight, pretty much just water everywhere in all directions. That's it."

 _"_ _Captain! Urgent message for you!"_ As Matsumoto opened his eyes, the fax machine in the corner started chattering as the radio operator forwarded the message to the captain.

Walking over, the secretary grabbed the piece of paper and started reading it. His eyes widened considerably.

Glancing up, he passed the paper to the captain.

Matsumoto took a quick glance over the contents, and was about to chuck it aside when something caught his eye. He reread it.

"That's not good. Get me the Ro-500."

* * *

In the shadows of the heavy clouds overhead, a certain dark-clad Blue Mermaid gazed out to sea. She stood aboard her personal command, an _Independence_ -class Littoral Combat Ship. The night view of the ocean around the Ogasawara Islands was exceptionally beautiful, with its unblemished natural beauty. If she had the chance to get official leave, the Blue Mermaid knew where she would go for her R&R.

Another Blue Mermaid joined her on the deck. This new arrival wore a different set of clothes from her counterpart, instead wearing the normal white Blue Mermaid uniform. The second woman stood next to the first person, saying nothing at all.

A while later, the first person sighed. "It's time, I guess?"

The arrival nodded, "It is. We have detained their accomplice and are awaiting new orders, ma'am."

The dark-clad Blue Mermaid let out a slow breath, "I just hope Onee-chan is having a better time than this…"

"What is it, ma'am?"

Mafuyu Munetani shook her head as she sighed, "It's nothing, Remilia. Lead the way, would you?"

The white girl turned and started walking away with Mafuyu following her. When they passed through the entryway, Mafuyu rapped her knuckles on the metal, giving off a soft "klok klok" sound. On entering the ship, they went down one deck and took a turn, stopping outside an unused storage room.

The white girl halted Mafuyu before she could go in, "We have Asami-san and Noriko-san looking into her at the moment, there is no need for us to intrude."

The hidden message was plain enough for Mafuyu.

 _Basically, you just don't want me involved in this. Why did I even agree to having a secretary anyway? They are all at the beck and call of some Diet member anyway, it's just a matter of how far they push the political interests of their masters._

Outwardly, she chuckled, "Fufufu, we'd best leave the professionals to their work, ja? Come, Remilia. I feel like having some midrats tonight, want to join me?"

The secretary Remilia gave no reply, but followed along behind Mafuyu's back. To be honest, Mafuyu liked acting all happy-go-lucky, all carefree and stuff. It helped give the crew a morale boost when their captain was confident in them and their capabilities, never mind what she truly thought of them.

Remilia was an entirely different matter.

The woman that had been a part of her crew had constantly grated on Mafuyu's nerves. Whenever she was around, Mafuyu had put up her guard. No matter what they were doing, she always had this feeling of impending danger, of a knife ready to slip between her ribcages at any moment.

As she walked, she greeted another crew member – Sakuya, the assistant quarter master – who was on her way to the same storage room they had just left.

Mafuyu couldn't have missed the way Remilia and Sakuya shared a glance. It had been a running joke among the crew, of who shipping who together. Naturally, they had called her a siscon and left it at that.

Mafuyu knocked on the doorframe as she entered the officer's mess. Here, the cooks had set up a small buffet-style spread of midnight rations, or "midrats" as most called them. None of them looked appetising.

Instead, Mafuyu settled for a cup of coffee. She spooned herself two sugars into a cup, then added the coffee from the dispenser. While she stirred her drink, her secretary helped herself to a cup of coffee as well.

Both women sat down at a table. No one else was here, either busy in the engine room, in CIC, or just generally at their various posts.

Mafuyu took a sip from her coffee, the bitterness of the drink offset by the sugar she had added in. "Since we're here, Remilia-san, I would like to share with you something important."

She reached into her pocket, and with some difficulty, pulled out a slip of paper. "I was sent a copy of the message the radio room intercepted this morning. It was intercepted at 4.49am, and consists of 124 characters. It was written in English, so I hope you still remember what you learnt in middle school, Remilia-san." She slid the paper across the table.

The paper had the message written down in cleartext, the machines having no problem at all with decoding the message. This was what it said:

BE ADVISED BM BENTEN IN AREA REPEAT BM BENTEN IN AREA  
DO NOT PROCEED WITH OP SHRINE MAIDEN REPEAT DO NOT PROCEED END MESSAGE

"Now, Remilia-san. With your connections and all, could you please tell me what **Operation Shrine Maiden** refers to?"

* * *

 **Author's Notes: Kudos to the people who recognise what references I'm making. I hope they are obvious enough...**

 **Just to be on the safe side, here is the disclaimer: I do not own Touhou Project or any of its derivatives. Some characters are named after Touhou characters, usually when I start running out of names and backgrounds for them. It's exhausting to keep compiling and updating the codex with all the character changes and bios with each writing session, but I have been managing so far.**

 **Perhaps as a New Year's special, I'll release something special?**

 **Think of it as a sneak preview, if I ever upload it at all.**


	20. The morning after

**When you finish, please read the AN at the bottom**

* * *

 _What's going on?_

Blinking, she could finally see past the white haze.

Here she was, in a room foreign to her. Her belt, jacket, shirt, tie, skirt, all gone, leaving her with nothing but a blanket and her undergarments to cover herself. She didn't let her herself betray that she was awake. Carefully cracking her eyes open, she spotted the only source of light being the table lamp on the table, pointed away from the bed so as to provide the dimmest of lighting.

There was another person in the room as well. A male, wearing a combat uniform. He hugged his rifle as he sat in his chair, his eyes closed as his head leaned against the muzzle of the rifle. He had an empty combat vest on his person, khaki brown against his grey-blue mottled uniform. A pair of black fingerless gloves were worn on his hands, and a pair of polished combat boots.

Except for the left boot though. There were still stains on it, of a substance she couldn't really identify.

It was his soft, yet well-worn face that Mashimo recognised best.

Still not rising from her position, she turned her head as softly as possible to scan the room further.

She could spot out of the corner of her eye her small luggage bag, tucked away at the foot of the bed. Miller's body blocked most of her view of the table, but she could still spot the vanity mirror that she had left out before she was dragged off to dinner.

The silence of the room was broken by a sudden beeping.

 _AAGHHH!_

The sound crushed her eardrums, pounding her head with a burst of _bloody pain_. It felt like there was a _Yamato_ inside her head firing off its main guns with each beep.

She hissed, moving one arm to cradle her head. The pounding was all consuming, waves and waves of agony–

"–uh!? Wha-what?"

Bearing the pain, Mashimo cracked one eye open. Miller's voice had sounded like the _Musashi_ had joined its sister in their gunfire, rumbling around in her head, trying to blast its way out.

Miller stood up to stretch, and promptly forgot about the rifle sitting in his lap.

"Oh shit." Even as it fell out of his lap, he made a lunge for it, just barely catching it from hitting the floor. Having secured his rifle, he turned to the table and pressed some buttons. The beeping stopped as he held onto the rifle with his legs. Turning away from the table, he slapped a thick black watch on his wrist and was doing up the strap when his eyes caught Mashimo's.

"Oh! You're awake!"

 _GAAHHH!_

Hissing, Mashimo grabbed her head with both arms. Who had invented hangovers anyway? That little bastard should rot in hell for this.

"S…hut up…" she squeezed out. She could feel tears squeezing their way out the corners of her eyes.

Good for him, the mercenary understood what she wanted. He rested his rifle across the chair as he picked something off the table. Surprisingly, his boots were softer than expected on the floors. The knocking noise they made wasn't enough to rival that of an _Agano_ -class cruiser's main battery, and she had witnessed multiple times just how loud those things were.

Mashimo Munetani had served aboard the _Yahagi_ during her time at Yokosuka, and during a joint-fleet manoeuver, had the opportunity to witness the _Shinano_ of Kure Girls Marine High School. The mission back then was to engage in shelling an opposing fleet. The mockups were piloted by the instructors, using their drones as relays so that the radio signals could carry all the way to the mock fleet.

When one of the destroyers made radar contact with the mock fleet, the commander in chief ordered all ships capable of firing to fire at will. The resulting _boom_ from all 12 ships involved in the exercise had penetrated even her industrial-grade ear muffs.

This was mostly the fault of the _Shinano_. 9 46cm guns firing at once was deafening enough. When you were standing on the bridge of the ship _escorting_ that super battleship, barely 300 meters away from it and in direct line of sight of those gun barrels…

The doctor later informed her she probably had minor hearing loss due to that incident, but it was really mitigated by the ear muffs she wore. Her classmates in Engineering were not as lucky, since they had not yet worn their muffs when the _Shinano_ fired.

Why were her thoughts rambling like this?

Mashimo pressed her hand against her forehead. "Please, help me out."

To his credit, the mercenary didn't make her hangover worse. Instead, he slung the rifle over his back. Following that, Miller picked up something placed at the foot of the bed that she couldn't see earlier. The pile of folded clothes brought to mind her current nakedness.

While she subconsciously pulled the sheets closer to her, Miller pulled from next to his foot a canteen of water. The man tiptoed closer to her and set the clothes on the bed just next to her. He also partially unscrewed the canteen of water and left it on the bed as well in view of her.

"Please, drink some water. It will help." Mashimo willed her arms to move, and she was able to unscrew the rest of the canteen. Drinking from her lying position was difficult at best, but she was able to do so without exposing anything.

Miller blushed lightly, but otherwise did nothing more than wait a bit longer. Once he was satisfied that she was drinking enough water, he got up from his kneeling position on the floor.

"Change your clothes when you're done. I'll be waiting outside. I've placed an aspirin tablet on the table, take it if you want," he whispered. After delivering the message, he made an about face and opened the door.

"Please don't take too long."

The door closed, leaving Mashimo alone with only the sound of her breathing to accompany her.

She waited in the dim lighting for 5 more seconds before swinging her feet around. Rising from her position on the bed, she grabbed the canteen and stumbled towards the table. The _Hakurei_ had its buoyancy points below the waterline, which made for a ship that was top heavy, and yet extremely stable in rolling seas.

True enough, the little white tablet in its plastic packaging was there on the desk. He had placed it next to the folded compact. She left it untouched, instead placing the canteen next to the tablet.

Having done that, Mashimo went back to the clothes. She started with the blouse. As she was doing up the buttons, Mashimo could help but note how it had been freshly laundered and pressed. She definitely couldn't have undressed herself last night as well, so how she ended up partially naked in bed was an uncomfortable question lingering in her mind.

After that, it was the skirt. The white skirt still had some faint stains on the hems, probably her vomit.

Another scene from last night flashed across her mind, of her clutching onto Miller's legs and dumping her stomach's contents on his boots.

Mashimo winced. _I'll have to apologise to him later as well._

Zipping up the skirt, the next pieces, the tie and the blazer were quickly adorned as well. As she drained the last of the canteen and pocketed the aspirin, the door suddenly opened.

Entering the room were two people. One was a mercenary, with their standard blue-grey uniform and load bearing vest. She had a hand gun, a Beretta, in her gloved hands. The other appeared to be a scientist working on the ship. This scientist was female as well, and wore their usual white lab coat. She had cut her coffee-brown hair short, clipped up at the front by a pair of X-shaped hair clips.

Miller was nowhere in sight.

Mashimo immediately felt her body tensing up. These people… she took account of the way the gun was handled, of the mercenary's stance… the way the scientist was judging her, whether Mashimo was a threat or not…

"Please come with us," the scientist spoke. "There is a virus currently loose on this ship. We can give you a quick check up to ensure you are not infected, and if needed provide an antibiotic injection."

The Blue Mermaid's eyes narrowed. "I was not informed about this development."

The scientist replied, "It is only recent. We suspect it was due to a breach in the biomedical storage. Investigation is underway." The mercenary remained silent throughout.

Mashimo moved over to her desk. "Then proper procedure would be a direct announcement over the 1MC, not this personal dissemination of information." As she spoke, her hands were held behind her back. With her body now concealing it from view, she quickly picked up the compact from where it was on the table and slipped it into her palm.

By this point, it seemed the Mercenary was getting quite irritated by the pace of the conversation.

She raised her handgun.

"Shut up. Hands in the air, now."

Mashimo raised an eyebrow, "What is the meaning of this? You're holding me at gun point now, are you? The captain will hear of this."

"He already knows," the scientist cut in, stepping uncomfortably close to Mashimo. The mercenary moved as well, now getting a clear shot to the Blue Mermaid's back.

"And he approves. Now, your arm, please."

Without any further warning, the scientist gripped Mashimo's arm like a vice, drawing it out from beside her body.

Simultaneously, Mashimo swung her other arm. This one contained the compact.

She hated using makeup. Usually, the damn things were uncomfortable to wear and tended to leave her feeling like a piece of plastic. That's why she had this particular compact.

The compact was not made of plastic. Instead, it was weighted and made of metal with a thin plastic layer over it. It had no storage of any cosmetics whatsoever, instead having a very shallow well to store a layer of blusher for appearances. The main feature was the mirror, a very useful tool in checking over her shoulder in public situations.

In other words, this compact was a small hand-held self-defence club in disguise.

She smashed it off the skull of the scientist as she spun, forcing the scientist to be between her and the pistol. The mercenary held her fire. Instead she charged in, tackling Mashimo off the dazed scientist.

The handgun ended up trapped between their bodies. As they both rolled on the deck, Mashimo lost her grip on the compact, clattering off the cold metal floor.

She lashed at the mercenary, her fingernails clawing marks across their face. The mercenary winced, but grappled Mashimo by the neck instead.

Mashimo bit wildly, catching the mercenary's fingers with her teeth. The lack of fingers for the gloves was meant for increased flexibility and dexterity. This lack of protection came around to bite them hard.

Literally.

The mercenary screamed as Mashimo applied the pressure with her teeth. She could taste the bitterness of blood trickling into her mouth as something gripped her by the legs.

She kicked out, smashing her foot against the scientist and throwing her against the wall. The two rolled on the ground, this time pausing with Mashimo on top and the mercenary below. The fingers were torn out from between her teeth in the roll.

As the mercenary struggled to fend her off with one hand, Mashimo grabbed hold of her head and smashed it off the ground as hard as she could. The mercenary's eyes rolled around in her head as Mashimo repeated this 3 more times for good measure.

With the mercenary stunned for the time being, she turned around and grabbed the gun. Miss scientist was huddled in the corner, trembling as she nursed a sore stomach.

"That's it. I'm leaving, and I'm reporting this to the authorities. Good bye."

Keeping the gun trained on the scientist, she back pedalled out of the room, grabbing the door along the way.

As she pulled it shut, she felt something hard poking into her back.

She turned around.

Standing behind her was another mercenary with his rifled pressed to her back. In these confined quarters…

Even as she was calculating how to dodge this man's trigger finger, something else forced her train of thought to freeze.

He knelt on the floor, an assortment of bruises scattered across his face and his arms tied behind his back. His weapons were on the floor well out of his reach, and with two different guns pointed at him. One at his side, the other…

The captain of the _Hakurei_ smirked, his SIG Sauer P220 pistol pressed against the back of Miller's head.

"Will you submit yourself for examination now, Munetani-san?"

Mashimo hissed. Assuming that she could dodge this man, that wouldn't save Miller from those two and their guns.

To be honest, she had been expecting something to happen, but not to this scale. With all the suspicion around the _Hakurei_ , Mashimo had anticipated some action on the ship to be happening. For events to be accelerating this fast, it was a wonder she hadn't broken down already trying to process it all.

How the hell did a dinner invitation devolve into this?

She sighed, relaxing her stance and letting the gun dangle loosely from her fingertips. Pulling her feet together, she held the gun out at an arm's length from her body.

"Don't hurt him. He's had nothing to do with this." She had to say it, at least to assuage this creeping sense of guilt.

The captain's only response was to chuckle. "Perhaps. Secure her, and escort her to the _Seiran_."

The male mercenary nodded, grabbing the gun from Mashimo's hands and after checking the chamber, ejected the clip and shoved it into his combat vest. After that, he produced from his belt a set of restraints and secured her wrists together.

While he was doing all that, the bodyguard for the captain kept their rifle trained on Mashimo. The captain's own gun was kept pointed at Miller's head.

With the preparations done, the mercenary held Mashimo by the shoulder and forced her to start moving. The last of the captain Mashimo saw was him gesturing to the bodyguard to enter her room.

It was as she rounded the corner and they left her line of sight did the gunshot ring out.

She couldn't hear herself sob over the explosion of noise.

* * *

 **Hello there.**

 **This chapter was much shorter than usual.**

 **Mainly because school is starting for me once more.**

 **In fact, it started three weeks ago. I have been working on the main story over this period of time, and as I was writing, I realised that I needed this chapter that cannot be excluded. I'll try to write a separate plotline that ties in but can be ignored in favour of the main plot. In this case, Mashimo Munetani plays a important role in the story; the narrator is telling her this story in a hospital room after all.**

 **It was as I was fleshing out the next two chapters for Contact! did I realise that I needed to show what was going on inside the research ships. Otherwise, the upcoming twist in the plot would be meaningless and appear as if it came right out of left field.**

 **TBH, it really did come out of left field for me. As I was writing this, I realised that there was no way I could pass off the different research vessels as one single ship, and that if I did so, the whole reason for a conflict between Toumai subs and the Blue Mermaids would become baseless... and I'm giving away too much detail.**

 **What I need to say is that, this chapter has some important information that needed to be presented before the main plot could progress.**

 **My updating schedule will become much more erratic from now on. I estimate my only free time to be during the year-end holidays, so until then, updating will have no fixed schedule and will be very sporadic.**

 **As a heads up, the next chapter may not be out for a month or more. Its just not ready for publishing.**

 **P.S. The _Hakurei_ is a real research vessel. One of the MCs of Touhou Project is a certain shrine maiden... Need I explain the operation name any further?**

 **P.P.S. Youjo Senki has been out for a while now. I'm completely new to it, and so far so good; its turning out better than expected (though the OP wasn't released until EP3)**

 **P.P.P.S. I swear this is the last one. I'm working on another fanfic set in the Toaru Majustu no Index/Toaru Kagaku no Railgun verse, alongside the AU fanfic of Haifuri which I have posted a preview of. Those two will be released when I am finally done with this piece. As a side note, I did rather badly for my national exams, so right now, my stories are all I have going for me. Perhaps when I have finished them all, will I disappear from this world...**

 **Woo! 500+ words for an AN! That's like, 20% of the wordcount of the actual chapter :) =_=#**


	21. It's time to begin

The RATt project did not entirely follow the aims of its predecessor the Genetic Transfer Experiment (GTE). The purpose of the GTE was to find a way to allow extended periods of survival with minimal resources. Genetic engineering had two routes: one patient could have their DNA modified at the foetus stage and then trained as they grew up to take on the desired role. An alternative was to have the patient infected with a virus that could change every single cell in the body, thus modifying the body's DNA even when at a mature stage of development.

Researchers at the YA-93 laboratory determined through a series of prototypes that it would be more efficient to convert existing subjects. Considering that the minimum age for entering the submarine service is 25 years old after all the extensive training the recruit would go through, devoting resources to maintaining such a project over a course of 25 years would be too expensive.

The RATt virus is created by modifying existing HRV-A39 nucleus with the RATt nucleus. These new viruses, hence termed "RATt virus", are introduced to a nutrient dish and left to incubate at 32.7⁰ Celsius. When sufficient amounts of the virus have developed, the virus is transferred a nutrient tank and frozen for long term storage.

When required, a nutrient tank will be released from storage and thawed out. Operators can then extract a sample of the RATt virus for the approved use.

 ** _"RATt project research report 2008", excerpt._**

Marooning used to be the intentional leaving of someone in a remote area such as an uninhabited island… In earlier centuries, it was a penalty for crewmen or for captains at the hands of a crew in cases of mutiny. Then, marooning meant setting a man on a deserted island, often no more than a sand bar at low tide. He would be given some food, a container of water, and a loaded pistol so he could commit suicide if he desired.

 ** _"Marooning", Wikipedia article_**

* * *

"Right, let's get this show on the road. Sonar, I want to know what's happening on the towed array. Comms, any news from our contact on the ship? Gunnery, Torpedo, prepare for anti-submarine warfare." Even as the orders were given out, the streams of data were being funnelled into the CIC.

First to respond was Communications. "Nothing, ma'am! Our contact has yet to re-establish comms with us!"

"Ma'am! We aren't picking up any contacts in the area!" This came from Sonar.

"Ready for ASW, ma'am!"

The Blue Mermaid gave an imperceptible sigh as she adjusted her peaked cap. "We are on operational standby. Our mission is to defend the research vessel _Hakurei_ from possible enemy submarine attack. The ship is to remain dark out for the duration of this mission."

 _Dear God, please, spare them. They're far too young to realise the errors of their ways! Please! I don't want to kill any children!_

Apart from the forward gun turret rotating into place, having received a fresh set of ammo, the BM _Sarushima_ betrayed no other sign of movement.

* * *

"Hmm…"

The captain snapped back the periscope handles, letting the periscope housing retreat into the ceiling. "Wave height estimated 1 meter. Wind currently flowing north-west, estimate 100knot wind speeds. 4 _Independence_ -class littoral ships are stationed around the target. Target is an unknown civilian vessel. 5 ships in total. They are preparing for a night mission. The lead ship is moving with an estimated speed of 3 knots, presumably for steerage. No other ships in sight. Estimated distance to closest ship is 10 nautical miles, on a relative bearing of three-four-three degrees."

He took a moment to process the data. "We are going ahead with the plan. To everyone on this submarine, I salute you. May we be successful, and God be on our side."

His Deputy and Secretary nodded, even as his Gunnery and Torpedo Officers departed for their stations. The only ones left in the bridge were his Navigator, his Deputy and his Secretary.

"Engines, ahead dead slow. Rudder starboard 3 degrees, keep us on a heading of one-two-zero degrees. Dive to 80 feet. Torpedo tubes, prepare 2 dummy torpedoes, set wide spread, we want to spook them into scattering. We most likely won't need guns this fight, so Gunnery crew, please relegate yourselves to Damage Control as you see fit."

As the crew followed his orders, the captain of the I-16 rested his hand against his face, using his fingers to massage certain pressure points on his forehead.

"Why do I get the feeling we're going to have a bad time?"

* * *

Silence was the key. Not one boy had dared to move as the insanely cramped submarine snuck closer and closer to the cordon. They were practically blind, with nothing but a prayer and passive sonar to guide them closer.

Normally, their submarines were supposed to use periscopes to view where they were. It was because of that that these things were considered obsolete, their threat level significantly played down. In fact, the only reason these things were still in service was because they were an excellent practise equipment for midget submarine operators.

That, and the principal of Toumai Boys Marine High School had pulled some strings.

Inside the submarine, Norita winced as he felt a cramp starting on his right leg. However, with his current position, it was rather difficult for him to relieve his sore muscles. After all, when you are squeezed into a tiny tube originally meant for two torpedo tubes, it is quite difficult for anyone to even move at all.

The other people with him were his Captain, and the midget submarine operator from the I-16. The operator, Koube, was of a slight frame and a small disposition. He wore a pair of black rimmed glasses that shimmered in the pale green glow of the operating equipment. His black hair was short and greasy, and oil stains still splattered his overalls.

"Captain–"

"Shh! You don't want them to hear us!" Koube hissed at Norita, which shut him up immediately. It was true. The Type A Kou-Hyouteki-class submarine was an ancient model, developed as far back as 1940. Expectedly, as technology marches on, these things were found to be too noisy for conventional use.

That was why, they weren't using it conventionally at all.

Right now, they were using a deep ocean current at around 120m of depth to drag the midget submarine along, all without the use of the contra-rotating screws. To cope with the massive depth, the midget submarine had to be reinforced with certain metal spars crisscrossing the interior, as well as a near-total reconstruction of the submarine.

It was enough, but just barely. The submarine creaked and groaned under the pressure, creating a huge risk of discovery. The noise it was making, along with the other 2 submarines following along behind it in the current, had a chance of giving away their presence.

The entire plan relied on the team making it to the research ship _YA-93_ that was being secured at the centre of the Blue Mermaid formation. Currently, the Blue Mermaids would be anticipating an attack, just that they wouldn't know when.

Norita winced as the twitching sensation in his leg transitioned into a stronger burning sensation. The midget submarine they were using was extremely small. Originally designed for 2 people to operate, they had to squeeze 3 people into this cramped-as-hell machine. The solution was to cut away the torpedo tubes, remove some of the battery banks, and have a third person stuffed into the clear-out space.

Norita was smaller-sized than Yonehara. Thus, he ended up being the one cramped in here.

Outside the cramped space Norita was in, he could see Yonehara moving, adjusting a small valve to shift ballast towards the back of the ship. He could tell, even though the valve readings were too small for him to read in this dim lighting.

He could sense the change. Back when they had started out, he had been plotting their position on the charts and detected an ocean current dragging the submarine off course. Turns out, that ocean current was the exact same one they were currently in, and the others were relying both on the hydrophones and his gut instinct to tell when they reached a certain position.

 _Almost there…_

Koube's eyes narrowed as he pressed his headphones closer to his ears. With his free hand, he tapped out a message on a tablet, just to avoid the scratching noises a pen on paper would make.

 _Contact 3 dropped multiple objects overboard. Possible biologics, from the amount of splashing noises._ A pause. _Classify contacts as biologics. Can hear voices, but indistinct._

The two others in the midget submarine nodded. Norita raised his hand. The tablet was passed to him, and he typed out on the screen.

 _Nearing target position. Estimate 20 feet to position, will reach in approx. 40 sec._

Koube nodded. _Alright. Yonehara-san, give us a 3-degree rise, please._

The Captain turned around and started to adjust the valves again. The adjustment in ballast was almost imperceptible, but the bubble gauge never lied.

After that, Yonehara adjusted the ballast tanks, venting out a small quantity of water. The midget submarine started to rise on a positive buoyancy.

Koube strained his ears, struggling to detect the slightest noise from the defending ships. This part of the insertion was the riskiest; with the noise from the ballast and the metal of the submarine expanding, the noise they kept giving off could spell the end for them.

 _What was the end, anyway?_

There were a few guesses Norita had. The first, would be a quick death by pressure, his bones liquefied under the weight of the ocean. Next, would be being torn apart by the 57mm cannon as they neared the surface. After that, would be being shot by defending soldiers as they emerge.

If none of those happen, and they were caught on board?

Being captured on the target ship _YA-93_ could result in multiple consequences. Arrest for attempting to steal classified information, assault on Government property, attempted murder. Arrest for causing false alarms. Lost at sea, injected with that RATt virus, and becoming one of those dead people.

20 seconds to launch position.

They were nearing the 90m mark soon. The creaking noises were getting worse, and all the firearms in the world were not going to save them if someone above heard them and launched a torpedo.

For some reason, an image of his father floated by. If the man had taught him anything, it was the corrupting power of alcohol. Alcohol had ruined his family life, ruined his father. A respectable person in the community, the gradual disappearance of his wife had grated on his sanity, until…

Norita could still remember. He could still feel the terror, the pain, the cold.

It was out there, all around him now. The ocean was cold. It would take you in, swallow you whole, with little to no chance of ever escaping again. Death by animals, death by drowning, death by hypothermia.

That's why submarines had appealed to Norita in the past. Back then, when the _USS Pogy_ first surfaced off the coast of Japan, as it burst out of the water at the naval base of Yokosuka, Norita had witnessed the magic of submarines.

Creatures from another world, a machine built and controlled by man that thrived under the oceans. Being under the surface was their life, was their true purpose. A submarine on the surface was an oddity, that spoke of ill like a whale carcass floating belly up on the beach.

Why was he thinking about all this now?

There, they were in the target position. The others must have, should have, picked up on the change in movement. They were probably following up even now.

The tablet was pulled out again.

 _Ready? Start the ascent._

Koube adjusted the rudder of the midget submarine, locking it into a wide circling manoeuvre as they moved upwards. They soon left the undersea current, rising now on buoyancy forces and momentum alone.

About another 5 more minutes, and they would broach the surface. 5 more minutes of praying that every single sonar operator on those 5 ships failed their spot checks.

Sometimes, Norita wondered, just how did Being X handled it. With over 7 billion people praying to Being X on daily basis, just how did They keep track of all their requests? Did They have some automatic filter system, that filtered out those requiring Their direct intervention, while the others got a standard, automated reply? Why was he rambling at a time like this?

Despite that, Norita decided that at least spam mail would receive _some_ form of recognition, even if it's just wasted space on someone's hard drive.

And so, he prayed.

* * *

Ugh…

Bright. White. Electric-red colour splayed across my vision, lighting up the area I was in. A sharp noise came from my left, so I turned to face it. My head swivelled around, taking in more of the room.

 _Tick_

There was nothing there but another creature in the other end of the electric-red room. They were looking at me.

I shifted my weight from one side to another, getting my limbs under me. Four legs responded; though they had been asleep, I ignored the sensation and started walking my way over on all fours.

 _Tick_

The creature did likewise, struggling to crawl its way over to me. Its body had no skin, but instead it had what seemed like several pieces of fabric covering it. From out of nowhere, I fell over, tripping over my limbs as I faceplanted into the ground. I idly noted the floor was cold and solid, that it was made of a very strong and thick material.

A 10cm gun would punch through it like papier-mâché.

 _Tick_

The little bubble where that information had come from burst, leaving me confused and… empty.

Where had that come from?

 _Tick_

I pulled myself out of my fall, and studied what was on my body. A white fabric with a long black strip covered my forward half of my body. The black strip was wrapped around my neck like a noose. The white fabric had quite fully covered my body, leaving me trapped inside it. Over that, was another piece of cloth, white in colour and quite heavy. It had a blue coloured strip along the edge where it was held together along my underside. OVER that was a black strip of heavy material wrapped around my body, tying the cloths even tighter to my body.

 _Tick_

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the creature in the other half of the room. It too, had been inspecting itself after it fell, and I could see more of it now. The creature had long black fur growing from the top of its head. Though dishevelled and tangled, some of the fur's former glory could still be seen. It seemed the creature had styled its fur to look like a pair of ear flaps on the side of its head.

 _Tick_

I was getting closer now, more features of the creature even more obvious now. It had a pair of reddish-brown eyes, which were as dull and glassy as… glass.

On its right forelimb, it had a red band on its wrist that had been making the irritating ticking sound. Even so, I looked down at my own forelimbs. I had a similar red band on my left forelimb, that when I held to my ear, was making the ticking sounds as well.

I faced the creature. It had raised its leg to its ear, presumably listening to it too.

 _Tick_

What was happening?

My voice echoed off the creature in front of me, bouncing back to my ears faster than it should have. A sense of irritation and fear that I never noticed before started to well up.

Answer me! What is this? Where am I? What's going on?!

It did nothing but make faces at me, mouthing along whatever I was saying.

It was too much for me to take.

I lunged at the creature. It did the same.

Instead of the two of us meeting in mid-air and getting into a catfight of the ages, I crashed against something hard. With a strangled scream, I felt my body bouncing off the invisible barrier as a sudden burst of pain travelled up my nose.

Still screaming, my hands, for that's what they were, went to my face. I cradled my nose, wincing as I felt my warm red blood spilling through my fingers and onto my white uniform. The electric-red tinge I had been seeing the room in for the past while also disappeared, leaving me with a stark white room and a mirror for a wall.

That's right! I was wearing my uniform! Apart from the splashes of red on it, the uniform was also slightly dirtied, like I had been manhandled into this position. It was crumpled and creased in multiple areas, one of which I noticed was the skirt. Like it had been squished or forced upwards, then dragged down again.

I cut off that train of thought before it could go any further. First things first, was to get out of here.

The mirror I was looking at moments ago, had barely a mark on it from when I had thrown myself at it, but now…

If my eyes weren't playing tricks on me, I think I could spot a hairline crack.

There was only one thing left for me to do.

I pulled myself away from the mirror. Adjusting my stance, I braced myself and threw myself screaming at the mirror.

 _Bang!_

Again, I bounced off it. This time, however, the crack I could see had widened. Encouraged by this, I backed up and charged the mirror again.

On the fifth charge, I found myself screaming long after I had collided with the mirror. My hand cradled my sore shoulder as the pain flared along my whole body.

On the eighth charge, I wasn't able to continue. My entire right side was just pure agony, and the bruising was starting to show through the sweat-soaked blazer of this uniform. Prodding it, my right shoulder felt like mush. On the upside, I couldn't feel anything sharp or hard among the tortured flesh, which hopefully meant that there weren't any broken bones.

There was another upside to my injury.

The pain brought back clarity.

Clarity. The electric-red I was seeing the world in was slowly returning. At first, its progress was rather slow, and I could only notice its effects whenever I crashed against that mirror. When the pain forced the colour from my eyes and let me see clearly again.

But now, the rate at which the colour returned was increasing. The difference in my vision was increasingly obvious with each new impact. Not just that, but it seemed the colour was also damping my thought processes.

But for now, I was keeping one thumb pressed on my shoulder so as to let me think and see clearly. Fresh jolts of pain would sweep the cobwebs from my mind, letting me think properly once more.

Who am I?

That was my biggest question. For some reason, despite what I knew about myself – I am an Officer in the Blue Mermaids – I could not remember anything about who I was or what was my past. The maddening thing was that hints would keep dropping themselves in my lap, only to disappear before I could fully register them.

Like dreams, they would pass through, and I could never catch them completely before they left for good.

Who am I?

* * *

"Alright, shipmate. _Spill._ "

How did he end up in this situation?

Kouda Kinzo, secretary of the I-201, found himself pinned against the bulkhead in the bridge by a certain pissed off Deputy. Nakamura was glaring at him, his hand grasping Kouda by the neck as the boy tugged at the limb to no avail.

"Well? I'm waiting."

The other members of the bridge watched from behind Nakamura, with varying expressions on their faces. After the Captain had left with the Assistant Navigator, the only ones left on the bridge were the Deputy, the Secretary, the Chief Torpedo Officer and the Chief Navigator.

"A-about what?" He forced out. Nakamura's reaction was to shove him even higher up against the bulkhead, causing him to gasp and claw at the boy's hands.

"Why the HELL did you bug our rooms!?"

Ah. Right.

"'The purpose of a secretary is to record everything that happens on this submarine. All recorded data is submitted to the teachers as and when it is possible to do so, so as to provide a timely analysis of each individual's capabilities.' Basically, I bug the entire boat so that the teachers can evaluate us properly." The words rolled off his tongue as he held eye contact with the distraught boy.

For his part, Nakamura only lowered his gaze and relaxed his grip. Something in his eyes flickered before he slammed the secretary against the wall again. "That may be so, but you at least owe us an apology for that! How does it feel, losing your own privacy like that?!"

Kouda gagged, "L-let go…"

Nakamura stepped back, allowing him to massage his sore neck. Kouda had his head bowed forwards, but even so, he glared up at Nakamura through his hair. "Thank you for that. To everyone else, I deeply apologise for this intrusion of your privacy and I will continue doing so in the future. Thank you."

"Why you little–"

Kouda stuck his arms out, catching and stopping the Deputy before he could get slammed again. "For your information, I had to bug myself as well. There are 2 microphones on my body and one pair of contact lens capable of visual recording. All data is saved to multiple databases in my cabin and various locations over this submarine. I cannot modify this data, only determine when it is to be sent to the teachers."

He glared at the deputy, who had frozen in his tracks.

"Do not talk to me about privacy. I've had none of it since I was 12. Did you know, that we secretaries are selected and trained up from a young age? From 12 years old, we are taught how to be a spy, how to be the wolf among the sheep. Not everyone handles it well."

Kouda choked momentarily. "I have had friends, both girls and boys, go _off_ from the stress this job brings. One of my juniors, Coco-chan, had to retreat into her own fantasy land to stay _sane_. Can you just imagine what we must go through?"

"Not everyone wants to be a political officer."

* * *

 **Just because you are not looking for it, does not mean it's not there**

Noshima Satou wiped the sweat from his brow. The night may be chilling, but even with the 5-knot wind towards the bow ruffling his hair, the captain of the submarine only felt his sweat running down his neck and staining his armpits. He knew that once he went below, the combined heat from so many bodies would turn the bridge into a massive stink bomb.

Noshima mused over that quote once more. At night with the absolute minimal projection of the submarine's crow's nest above the waves, a submarine was almost assured in its protection. Chances were high enough that radar sweeps would fail to spot them.

All the same, he would rather not bank on too many spot check fails this early in the engagement. Already, getting the midget submarines through would be a miracle. The whole drifting-into-position idea was the only thing making it feasible. Pressure, speed, and direction changes would create noise, noise which to highly-advanced sonars would be as obvious as a black spot on a white board.

Right now, his mission was to provide some extra perspective on the situation. Periscope checks had failed to locate anything, so he was going to come up, scan for anything noteworthy and assess the current weather conditions.

A storm had passed over the Ogasawara islands 36 hours ago, and was continuing on towards the mainland. This was helpful for them, since it created choppier seas and simultaneously didn't degrade sonar performance by much.

He would have preferred it if they had attacked in the middle of the storm, but sonar degradation, a seasick crew and the still-patchwork cordon they had established could result in the target ships escaping.

The ship _YA-93_ was supposed to rendezvous with the contracting company for resupply, and the contracting company had a Blue Mermaid escort to fend off potential pirate attacks.

All that did was make Noshima's job even harder. Seriously, all he wanted to do was to sink the _YA-93_ and just go home, but to protect himself from the law, he had to obtain evidence of the _YA-93_ 's misdeeds, as well as bank on his benefactor stepping in to save him.

Otherwise, it was death or exile.

The captain sighed. Seriously, why did those people have to start this insane project anyway? The RATt project, disguised as the Gene Transfer Experiment (GTE), was the reason behind the loss of his friends. Noshima had pledged to get vengeance for them and thrown his support behind his benefactor. He had then gone around and recruited other captains to his cause, including the second-rate _I-201_ and the "Sniper of the seas" _I-19_.

Noshima had the misfortune of losing several of his friends to this project. They had volunteered for a medical research as a test subject, and ended up enslaved by the virus. From what information he had, test subjects were chosen based on their family conditions. He had lost his friends Mountain Rhino and Violet in this manner.

Mountain Rhino was super strong, yes. He had a super macho build, and yet his family ties were quite… strained. Last Noshima had checked, Mountain Rhino was estranged from his family in the Philippines and was left in Japan on his own.

As for Violet, she was famously flighty. With her parents' deaths, and no other relatives looking for her, she spent her time wandering around the world and switching partners like she switched dresses. The boys had gotten to know her when she worked at a local café, and ever since then took on the nickname Violet.

She had told him, one night, as the rain fell outside and the kotatsu kept them warm, that she wanted to be a zeppelin pilot.

She disappeared the next week.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder. Shaking his head, Noshima blinked as the lookout gave him a quizzical look. A sudden splash of seawater in his face helped drive away the last of those memories.

Coughing and spluttering, Noshima nodded to the lookout who went down the ladder. Taking one last look at the night sky, he noticed a single star falling from the sky.

 _Time to begin_.

* * *

"'Operation Shrine Maiden'?"

Mafuyu Munetani nodded, never breaking eye contact with her secretary Remilia, "Yes, Operation Shrine Maiden. Apparently, someone has discovered our presence in the area and tried to put a stop to this operation. Either I have been misinformed and we are conducting another secret mission in this area or Operation Shrine Maiden refers to something else entirely."

Remilia pursed her lips as she pressed a finger to her chin. "I… must admit I have never heard of such a thing. I can go make a few calls, but I doubt it's one of our missions."

The captain harrumphed lightly as she leaned back in her seat, "From what I'm seeing, this operation was something planned out by the belligerent forces, those submarines from Toumai. Has anyone gotten into contact with the principal at Maizuru?"

"No, the principal reported sick two weeks ago, before the entrance ceremony. He was able to pull through the ceremony before returning home to recover. However, we have reports that he is not in his house or at any of his known hideouts. The man has disappeared."

"Then what about the school? Their submarines have gone renegade, are they doing anything to stop it?" Mafuyu picked up her cup of coffee and held it close to her mouth, not drinking it just yet.

Remilia still held her own cup in both hands, having taken not a single drop of coffee. "I received classified information that the staff are unwilling to cooperate. They insist that their submarines are not involved, and that they were deployed to the region as part of training missions. The lesson plans do reflect this and they are all in order."

Mafuyu took a sip. "Fine, we don't count on them yet. Has the Admiral called for us yet?"

"Not yet. Our orders still remain unchanged."

"Damn," Mafuyu drained her mug as she rose from her seat. "Ah well, time to go interrogate the prisoner."

The secretary followed suit, the both of them dropping their mugs off for the cooks to clean. "With all due respect, captain, but that suspect's not a prisoner." Despite the reminder, a smile broke out on Remilia's face. "Prisoners get better treatment than this."

Mafuyu chuckled as she slapped the secretary on her back. "Too true, Remilia-san. Too true."

* * *

Noshima shuddered as for some reason, an image of _her_ drifted past his eyes. Brushing aside the feeling, he took his position by the helmsman as the submarine held position just below the surface.

"Get ready to deploy drone launchers in 3… 2… 1…"

Above decks, the locks for the midget submarine released, allowing their cargo to separate from the sub and drift away on the ocean currents. However, instead of a midget submarine, 3 box-shaped items floated away.

"Dive to 20 feet, set course one-four-four degrees, engines at one-quarter speed."

"Dive to 20 feet, set course one-four-four degrees, engines at one-quarter speed, aye, aye sir."

Noshima couldn't feel the submarine moving but he assumed the navigator knew his stuff and moved on.

"Gunnery officer, I want the 14cm gun ready for action in 5 minutes. Can it be done?"

"Aye, captain. I need you to unlock the live armaments first, though."

Noshima nodded. He walked over to the designated position at the bridge, and nodded at the deputy who had done the same.

"In 3…" They both held out their keys, pressing the tips against the keyhole.

"2…" The keys were inserted all the way.

"1."

Both captain and deputy twisted their keys in unison.

Given how submarines were designed for stealth, there wasn't any noisy clanking as the autoloader unlocked and shells moved into place. Rather, everything moved with a soft humming of electrical motors.

"Thank you, captain. We'll get to work on the guns right away."

Noshima inclined his head, "Right. Deputy, I'll leave you to run this ship for the moment. I need to pop below and get something."

The deputy nodded at the captain as he took his position back by the compass rose. "Aye, aye, captain."

Noshima made the short journey back to his cabin. Along the way, the number of sailors he ran into was depressingly lower than normal. On a submarine like the _RO-500_ , it was normal to walk into an average of three people for each passageway you took. This time, Noshima met only one person in his entire journey, and it was just the cook passing out sandwiches to those that wanted one.

He turned down the sandwich though.

Back in his room, the captain searched through his filing cabinet and came up with a red ring file. The pages turned as he thumbed through them one by one. The first few pages were filled with numbers and names, all of them circled. A far too alarming number of them were crossed out as well.

He found the page he wanted.

This page had all its names crossed out save one entry. This entry had a name and date, of which both were circled but the name remained uncancelled.

He stared at it, as a droplet stained the pages.

His fingers quivered as they hovered over the entry, tracing over the name.

 _Natori Naomi_

Another drop fell on the pages, smudging the red ink.

Blinking heavily, Noshima shook his head to push away the mental cobwebs. She may be in danger because of him, but to heck with it! If by the time this was over and she was no longer around, he'd just join her wherever she was.

The Beretta weighed heavily in its holster as he replaced the file in the cabinet. Just before he shut the door, he took one last look at the file.

 _"Contacts and associates"_ read the little slip of paper.

Noshima sighed as he pushed the doors shut.

 _My friends, I will avenge you. I swear._

* * *

 **Hi there. My school holidays are finally here, so after a bit of touch up, welcome back to Haifuri - Contact!**

 **I recently started playing this program called "Kerbal Space Program". It's a very interesting, interactive and engaging astrophysics simulation that basically has you launch rockets into outer space to eventually colonise the entire solar system. I will try to balance my time between touching up on next chapters and playing this game, so stay tuned and I'll be back next week at around this time with the next update.**

 **If you are interested, I wrote a more "proper" fanfic titled "The winds of change" _(title pending revision)._ It's a story about what if a certain unlucky girl got her wish and became the captain of the _Harekaze_. So far, I only have the prologue out since it's just an idea that I'll expand on in my own free time. I'm not going to put much serious effort into it though, until this story is finished.**

 **Irritatingly enough, because I didn't check back often on my fanfiction. net account over the past few months, all my previous chapters and their edits were lost save two of the latest chapters. It was quite a blow to my records keeping, so I have been delayed sorting out which chapters I have are the prepared chapters and which are the ones already published._.**


	22. Have no fear

RATt was brought to attention when the military realised the potential of a biological weapon. The RATt virus would render people incapable of doing anything but sitting still and doing nothing. Early signs also indicated that the RATt patients were linked by a hivemind given the strange coordinated behaviour of the infected subjects.

Subsequent military funding helped push the different versions of RATt through to the stage it is today. Instead of leaving its victims comatose, the virus now allows them fine motor control and basic locomotion, though how much of it is the virus and how much of it is the theoretical hivemind at work remains to be seen.

Today, the initial aims of the RATt project, as the researchers have dubbed it, have changed. From a biological weapon in the eyes of the Military, it has reverted to it's initial aims of allowing the human body a higher survival rate in extreme conditions.

 ** _Researcher Tanaka Amai, personal notes recovered from YA-93_**

Close quarters combat (CQC) is a tactical concept that involves physical confrontation between several combatants. It can take place between military units, police and criminals, and other similar scenarios. In warfare, it usually consists of small units or teams engage the enemy with personal weapons at very short range, up to 100 meters, from proximity hand-to-hand combat to close-quarter target negotiation with short-range firearms.

In the typical close quarters combat scenario, the attackers try a very fast, violent takeover of a vehicle or structure controlled by the defenders, who usually have no easy way to withdraw. Because enemies, hostages/civilians, and fellow operators can be closely intermingled, close quarters combat demands a rapid assault and a precise application of lethal force. The operators need great proficiency with their weapons, and the ability to make split-second decisions in order to minimize accidental casualties.

 **"** **Close Quarters Combat", Wikipedia**

* * *

 _BM Sarushima_ , Southwest of Nishinoshima

She fidgeted with her cap again, twisting it half a degree clockwise. Barely had a minute passed when she reached up to twist it a degree counter clockwise.

"Ma'am! I'm picking up noise in the water, on a bearing of one-seven-zero."

The Blue Mermaid in question adjusted her cap yet again. "Ok, classify it as a possible contact. I want more information on it."

The sonar operator nodded and resumed watching her monitor.

Kaoru Furushou, captain of the _BM Sarushima_ , continued standing around the planning table. Honestly speaking, there was nothing much for her to do. Her officers were constantly updating the planning table with newer data, and they were so well ingrained in their roles that she didn't have to say anything at all.

After the pre-mission speech that she gave, there had been absolutely nothing happening. A message from the _Hakurei_ informed her that there would be a midget submarine approaching it and that it was friendly. It would be the submarine that they had launched 6 months ago, and would returning for supplies.

Even so if it was friendly, Kaoru's job was to identify any and all contacts passing through the area, and continue doing so until they were far over the radar horizon.

Even with that said, her own radar systems were powered down for the moment. She gave the order for passive radar only to try and spot the attacking vessels. The only details she had received were that the attackers were mutinied submarines from Higashi-Maizuru Boys Marine High School and that the school's instructors were not interfering because they did not believe that their submarines had mutinied.

Whatever the case, the attack was to come from ridiculously outdated equipment dating back to the 1930s-1940s.

Kaoru pitied the students.

After all, what hope could they have, using obsolete equipment against a high-tech, state-of-the-art fleet?

"Ma'am, classify contact as a midget submarine, propulsion means unknown. Estimate contact making headway on a course of three-five-zero at a speed of 3 knots. Hull popping noises, I believe the contact is slowly surfacing, ma'am."

Kaoru nodded, "Good work, Tsuruya-san. Keep me updated. Classify contact as probable target, I want a firing solution on this thing."

Even before she could finish her sentence, the fire control officers around her were already moving. Someone punched data into the computers, which spat out numbers on a constantly updating screen, while others worked out with trigonometry the estimated firing plot for the RUM-139 VL-ASROCs.

Not for the first time, Kaoru cursed her superiors for issuing her a full ASROC loadout instead of a mixed set of missiles. Eight ASROCs firing the Mark 54 torpedoes was only good enough against 8 targets. 4 ships equipped as such meant 32 available ASROCs. Higashi-Maizuru has well over 70 submarines, and some of them were copies of each other like the I-13 class.

If all of them were coming for her and her escort…

Well, there were the standard torpedo launchers…

She had yet to finish her thought when her sonar operators winced. "Ma'am, transients! Noisy disturbance in the water at three-five-zero degrees." She paused, pressing her headphones closer to her ears.

 _That can't be right! The targets we identified couldn't have travelled that distance in such a short time! Especially without making any noise!_

"Sounds like someone fell overboard."

There was utter silence in the CIC.

As Kaoru dramatically facepalmed, everyone in the room started laughing.

"Really? Those idiots, I swear! What next, they need us to come over and bail them out?"

Her secretary chuckled, "It just makes you wonder how on _earth_ Munetani-san is coping, what with being stuck on the same boat as those idiots."

The CIC laughed again.

Kaoru giggled, before giving a sharp cough and wiping the smile off her face. "Alright then, everyone. Back to work!"

"Ma'am! Message from the _Hakurei_!"

The radio operator forwarded the message to the CIC, where a fax machine started churning out a few copies of the message. Kaoru pulled the first piece off the pile and read through the text.

"Ok, they say that their midget submarine is approaching the research vessel soon, but with no ETA attached. We are supposed to never know of its existence so please 'delete all records and data pertaining to the submarine.' What the heck is this?!"

Kaoru couldn't keep her voice down any more, "Really? Really?! We're supposed to defend against a supposed submarine attack, we're equipped with mainly anti-submarine weapons, and they want us to ignore any approaching submarines?!"

* * *

Midget submarine, Southwest of Nishinoshima Island

By some amazing stroke of luck, the surface ships above didn't launch any weapons. Norita wiped the sweat from his brow as the midget submarines broached the surface. If the calculations were correct, the submarines would surface on the shadow side of the _Hakurei_ , making detection by moonlight even more difficult.

Radar would be a whole other issue, but hopefully being so close to the _Hakurei_ would cause their radar signatures to merge, making the submarines look like one with the _Hakurei_. It was a risk they were taking.

What other alternatives did they have anyway?

 _So many things could be going wrong right now!_

Enough with the self-doubt, we're moving. Now.

The captain Yonehara took the lead, opening the escape hatch while Koube pulled Norita out of his crawlspace.

"Thanks–"

"Go, quickly." Norita wasn't able to say anything more before Koube shoved a plastic-wrapped rifle into his arms.

He nearly dropped it on his foot.

"Take it!" Koube hissed at him, "Take it and go!"

Norita slung the weapon over his back and clambered up the ladder. A spray of seawater hit his face as he climbed out. Spluttering the salty taste out of his mouth, Norita looked up at his captain.

At least he tried to. He couldn't see the boy anywhere in the pitch blackness.

Norita pulled himself out of the hatch, letting it swing shut behind him. The heavy weight of the gun was disturbingly familiar, but other than that it was still manageable.

Firing it would still be a problem.

 _On to the next step…_

Taking in a deep breath, Norita slid off the side of the submarine, hitting the waters feet-first.

The chill of the Pacific nearly drove the air from his lungs.

 _Day-time swimming was better than this!_

* * *

Several quick strokes carried Norita to the side of the _RV Hakurei_. There, he started to feel his way around the ship. The research vessel used a combination of antiroll tanks and bilge keels to limit roll caused by waves, causing greater stability. For some reason, there was a lot of activity on the opposite side of the ship. As he bobbed in the killer waves, a cheer broke out from the crowd.

In the dim lighting, Norita spotted someone in the water.

Keeping an eye on the hull of the ship, he swam over to them. It was another boy from the submarines.

They swam towards the rear end of the ship.

Despite popular misconception, boarding via the anchor lines was an extremely difficult process. It involved climbing up wet and slimy chains of metal, which apart from the lack of grip, can cut the climbers with rust that would have formed on the huge chains. Once the boarders reached the top of the anchor lines, they would need the help of someone on board to lower a line of sorts to reach the deck. Otherwise, it would be impossible to reach anything.

Thus, they would be boarding by the rear end. Given how the people attending to those overboard were clustered towards the fore of the ship, it would be a matter of testing their luck in getting into the ship.

The boy with Norita reached the ship first. He went straight for a service ladder, bursting out of the water like a dolphin and catching the bottom rungs. As the boy clambered up, Norita waited shivering in the water. Just as he was going to make his own attempt on the ladder, _something_ triggered an instinctive response.

Norita dived.

In an instant, a white-yellow submersible broached the surface. Norita watched through half-lidded eyes as the submersible drifted barely a foot above the water. In a few moments, the top hatch opened as someone climbed out. Several people followed.

From the _Hakurei_ , a skipper was lowered into the water with its rider on board. The skipper came up to the submersible and the lead person boarded the skipper. The machine made 4 trips in total, ferrying the four people from the submersible over to the _Hakurei_. The moment they were clear, Norita drifted away from his hiding spot in the _Hakurei_ 's shadow.

 _What are you doing? You were supposed to board the_ Hakurei _!_

Shut up. I've… got a strong feeling about this thing.

 _Oh, so_ you _have a strong feeling about this!? Well, I have a strong feeling about this as well–_

Quiet, you two.

When the voices in your head are arguing, that's when you know you're a few torpedoes short of a full load.

* * *

In his journey across, Norita took all the precautions he could. He swam the last distance underwater, going deep and letting his buoyancy and momentum carry him the rest of the way.

A careful surfacing revealed no one on guard. He could quite conceivably climb up, jump in and cause absolute havoc below decks.

Another gust of wind and the heaving waves tossed him around. Without shelter from the elements, the waves buffeting him were much more pronounced.

 _What to do?_

* * *

Unknown vessel, unknown location

Her eyes blinked open. For the first time in forever, Mashimo Munetani could recognize where she was.

 _It's a freaking_ holding cell. _What the heck am I doing in a holding cell?!_

The next thing she realized was that she was wet. She was dressed in a simple medical gown that was still dripping water and clung to her frame. As she studied herself, Mashimo noted how her ribs were more obvious than she remembered.

Her jumbled memories began clicking into place.

 _I was trying to attack a two-way mirror._

 _I woke up in an interrogation room._

 _There was gunfire, and I remember crying for someone._

The blurry image of a face drifted by, one clad in the mottled-grey of some nation's naval uniform.

 _Who? Who was it?_

She buried her head in her hands, arms propped on her knees as she ran through her thoughts. _I do not remember this place, nor the clothes I am wearing. I must have lost consciousness between the gunfire and the interrogation room. I was moved to this location. Whether it is in the same area I was in earlier or not, I do not know._

The door swung open.

Mashimo looked up at the person in the doorway. For some reason, they were wearing a hazmat suit.

"Come this way please, Miss Munetani."

The absurdity of the situation gripped her for a moment, before the answer clicked into place.

* * *

Oda rolled his eyes as the patient leapt to her feet. This wasn't the first time he had to deal with the crazies, and the things they spouted when under the influence of the drugs was both surprising and epic.

"Of course, that' it! I'm still asleep! All of this is a dream!" _Yes, yes, everyone comes to that conclusion._ He'd been told that the drugs caused the patients to believe they were dreaming. Sufficient time spent with them all but confirmed that theory for him.

"Which means, my good sir, you…" she spun on her heels and pointed at him like a certain ace attorney.

 _I can see where this is going…_

"Are nothing but a figment of my imagination!"

 _Called it._

Oda shifted his stance slightly. The hazmat suit was heavy and stuffy, its internal layers of rubber and plastic becoming slippery with the amount of sweat he was giving off. "Please come along now, Miss Munetani."

She ignored him.

"Which of course, means I can do things to you **like THIS!** "

Oda barely had the time to blink. She jumped on him, her arms and legs wrapped around his upper torso. With expert hands, she undid the latches on the hazmat suit that kept him safe and wrenched the helmet off.

"Wha– aarrrggghhhh!"

Mashimo giggled as she bit into his nose. Chortling with maddened glee, she tore and slashed with her fingers at his face. Oda stumbled backwards and crashed into the floor. All he could see was a blinding haze of pain.

Then, he couldn't see anything.

The crazed woman laughed even harder now as she swung the two eyeballs by their nerve sockets. "Oh! Oh! I know! I'll make a Newton's cradle out of your balls! Just let me get into your suit, and I'll have four balls to work with instead of two!"

It was fortunate for the man that he fell unconscious so quickly.

Because her next action was to bite out his throat.

* * *

Norita waited in the freezing waters. As more and more heat leaked from his bones, the maddening voices sang ever louder to him now.

 _shizunde soko e kogashite fukaku_

For so many years, he had been searching for the reason _why?_ Why could he hear them, this incessant murmur that gnawed at the back of his mind. He'd given it a name, called it the Choir, and ordered them to sing a tune for him.

 _shizunde ima tataki ite tsukeita minasoko ni  
shizunde soko e kogashite fukaku_

Surprisingly enough, the Choir did sing for him, but they were songs he never knew before, of random people's lives that he would never see. Over the past few days, after that encounter with the boy Yamada Taiga, the song had changed.

 _shizunde ima tataki kou tetsuki ita mina soko ni  
shizume soko e shizume fukaku  
shizume soko e kuraku fukaku  
kuzurete kowarete shizunde shimae  
yami no soko ni tomo to domo ni_

Those lines would keep repeating over and over, a ceaseless chorus in the corner of his mind.

And now, holding depth in the water so close to the submarine, the chorus was getting loud enough to compete with the crashing of the waves.

He glanced at the submarine, over to the _Hakurei_ , and back at the submarine again.

He made up his mind.

* * *

 _YMGH Tanikaze_ , South of Aogashima island

Shizuka sighed, her eyes flicking over to the man with her in the bridge.

He was one of the foreigners being evacuated to the floating city Maruyama. After the storm that hit the Ogasawara island chain, the foreigners who were affected and wished to return home were being ferried to Maruyama. From there, they would take a ferry to the mainland.

Not this guy, though.

He had insisted on meeting her, and when he did…

"Miss, thank you for seeing me. I have a request to ask of you." His voice was a deep baritone, one that set her heart racing. Despite being a foreigner, he had a good enough grasp of Japanese to be understood.

Shizuka held in her blush and replied in Japanese, "What is it?"

The man never rose from his forty-five-degree bow. "I was to meet my son here on Chichijima. He sent me a telegram a day before the storm. As such, I rushed here with great haste. Before I could meet him, the storm hit an hour before our meeting time. Ever since then, I have not seen him. Could you help?"

The red head girl pondered for a moment. "What details can you give me about him?"

"He's a submariner from a famous school, in his first year. He said he wanted to see his family before he left on his next mission, and my other son and I were the only ones in the area. My other son is uncontactable, thus he asked if I could meet him at Chichijima. If it helps, he's their navigator."

The answer clicked for Shizuka. "I think I know where your son is, sir. He left on the night before the storm on the submarine _I-201_. Where they went, none of us know. I'm sorry" She reached out and patted the man lightly on the arm. "You don't need to bow to me, sir. I'm much younger than you."

The man straightened up, but instead of profound sadness, he wore a very different expression on his face.

He looked… confused.

"He's not on the _I-201_ , miss. That's my other son, Marvin. My son Kevin serves on the _USS Harder_."

* * *

After that conversation, Shizuka had yet another worry on her mind. Apparently, there was another submarine in the area. Whether it was in dire straits or not, she didn't know. It could be trapped at the bottom of the ocean, and as long as it wasn't leaking anything or had lost any parts, there wouldn't be any sign of it being there. Finding such a sub would require many sonar sweeps of the entire island chain until they could confirm whether it is or isn't there.

Apart from that piece of news, he had requested staying on board until he had news of his son. He'd mentioned how he was a submarine captain himself, and that he may be useful in trying to find the _Harder_ if it didn't want to be found.

Shizuka didn't have the heart to tell him no. After discussing with the others, they came to the conclusion that as long as he didn't do anything weird, he could stick around until they had finished ferrying everyone. They were now making their way back to Chichijima, having dumped the refugees.

That's why since she was on watch duty, Shizuka had to go about her business watching over the bridge equipment alone with the American. Despite being absolutely silent, she could feel his unfocused gaze piercing through her back.

"Both my sons are in the submarine service."

His baritone voice, while not the angelic tone from before, was still deep enough make her heart jump.

"I used to serve on the _USS Pogy_. That day, I first met my other son Marvin when I went on shore leave at Yokosuka. He was a native, a Japanese boy about 10 years old. My wife told me how his mother had disappeared when he was 3 years old, and his father became abusive about three years after. My son first found him at the docks, and later reported to the police when he found his friend badly injured."

Shizuka turned around to look at the foreigner. He placed his hand over his eyes, blocking her view. She didn't interrupt the man's monologue as he continued.

"It turned out that the boy's father barricaded himself in the family house and committed suicide. The autopsy described it as death from strangulation, with complications stemming from chronic liver failure caused by alcohol. After the incident, he didn't have anyone to look after him. There were no known living relatives on the father's side, and the mother didn't leave behind any information on her family. This meant that the boy would have been sent to the orphanage."

"Previously, he had been bullied in school. If he were to be sent to an orphanage, we didn't know what effect that would have on his mental wellbeing. That's why we asked the local government for advice, and I was able to secure him a guardian. She was the landlady of the house we rented from during my shore leave. On top of that, I had a portion of my salary diverted to him so that he wouldn't be a burden on the landlady instead of having her provide for everything."

"Now, after so many years, both my sons enlisted in their country's submarine schools. My son went to Yorktown Naval Academy, and my other son to Higashi-Maizuru Boys Marine High School. From what I heard from the other people on board, the only submarine seen in the area was the _I-201_ , my other son Marvin's boat. If that's so, then what happened to my boy Kevin and the _USS Harder_?"

He looked up at Shizuka, and etched all over his face was worry. She had to say something, at least to comfort him if not anything else.

"Sir, I believe that when your son knew about the storm, he would have retreated underwater instead of staying on the surface. And since he wouldn't have had much of a time window to talk to you, his submarine would have already set off on their next mission. He will be fine, I promise."

She tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear as she shifted her weight. "Sir, why don't you get some rest? We will be passing Nishinoshima soon, and it's about 10 more hours until we are in sight of Chichijima."

The man shook his head, "Thank you, captain, but no thanks. Kevin had wanted to talk to me about something before his submarine left for Nishinoshima. If he's here, then I want to at least be close to him for a moment."

Shizuka nodded. She could understand where the man was coming from, and at the same time she didn't fully approve of his actions.

 _Well,_ she thought, _it can wait. There's some things I need to do tonight, and the crew will need to know about possible hostile subs in the area of engagement tonight._

* * *

Norita groaned as he tried flexing his legs. Floating for under an hour in waters as cold as this was slowly taking its toll on him. He knew that he was lasting longer than most others would because of his body. Minami, the sub's corpsman, had told him while applying the iodine on Norita's injuries what the dormant RATt virus had done to him.

"Basically, the reason why the virus is dormant is because it isn't truly a virus in its original sense. The virus has evolved to your body, changing your DNA at its fundamental level. You're… not entirely human, Hashimoto-san. Your body is a mix of both human and RATt, and my suspicion is that this was done early in your life. Your body was injected with RATt when you were still developing, and from there it reworked your DNA to what it is today." The doctor clapped Norita on the shoulder, Norita's face being held expressionless as his mind tried to absorb what was just said.

"You are special, Hashimoto-san. That's what's important."

After that particularly enlightening conversation, Norita was hustled off to the waiting midget submarine. He hadn't had any time to consider what the doctor told him since then, since he was focused on making sure they were on the right track.

Now, while he waited for the skippers to come back, Norita took the time to think about his situation.

Was he just a test subject? If so, who was the tester? Who decided to use him as part of the experiment, and why was he out here, free in the world, while other test subjects were kept detained who knows where?

Something tugged at his senses. Turning around, he nearly caught a wave to the face and snapped his mouth shut in time. Bobbing out of the water, he caught sight of what triggered his instincts.

Coming back towards the submersible was the skipper, and there was only one person on it.

Norita dived.

* * *

"Where is he?"

Yonehara hissed at the boy behind him, who shrugged.

The _I-201_ 's captain sighed, "Guess we'll go on without him. Let's go." He had removed the plastic wrapping on the gun, and now held an AK-47 across his knee. As he stood up, he hefted the gun up to his shoulder, grimacing at the weight.

"Damn, this thing's heavier than I remembered."

His companion, a boy from the _I-25_ , readied his own weapon, a Colt Mustang. "Ready, captain?"

The two boys rose to their feet and began moving further into the ship.

Yonehara took point, rounding the first corner. There wasn't anyone there, and after looking out for cameras but finding none, he signaled for his partner to move forwards. The boy scooted around him and took point at the next corner.

A second later, the boy signaled Yonehara and the captain moved out, sweeping behind him for anyone at the same time.

In this fashion, the two boys raced down the passageways. They were searching for a cabin of great importance, one where all critical information would be stored.

Well, they were actually looking for three cabins. The server room, where all the ship's computer systems would be stored. The Officer's cabin, where the Blue Mermaid would stay in. And last, but most importantly, the Captain's cabin. These three were most likely to hold critical information.

After all, no one really knew which side the Blue Mermaids were on, that's why the boys were working on an "enemy till proven otherwise" mentality.

None of their guns had silencers, so if they were to use them, the entire ship would know the boys were on board. That's why Norita was supposed to come along. He was the one who performed the best in knife-wielding in Field Camp, and would have been useful in silencing those they came across.

"!"

The silent exclamation had Yonehara pause. He watched as the boy ducked into a room. Immediately, the captain could hear the faint tap tapping of someone else's boots. Yonehara did the same as his partner, ducking into the nearest room.

Quickly closing the door behind him, Yonehara swept the room as fast as he could. It was mostly clean, but on the floor, he could spot some stains. Since it was empty, he made sure the door was closed and knelt to examine the stain.

It was some kind of cosmetics, probably a blusher, that had been smeared into the floor. More of it was spread out on the floor in a random pattern. Furthermore, he spotted a small item wedged into the space between the wall and the desk.

His fingers stretched out, trembling as he pushed and prodded the object. With some nudging, he got it to roll out of the space. The object was a very heavy compact, used by ladies for applying makeup. However, this item was heavy, much more than a normal compact should be.

Curiosity gripped him. Yonehara felt for the lock and snapped the compact open. The mirror was slightly dusty from the blusher powder that had fallen onto it. The dirtied mirror was still effective in showing Yonehara the gun pointed at him.

The boy threw himself to the side as the gun discharged. The bullet missed his head, burning as it scraped along the side of his skull. Despite the pain, his body was moving on autopilot. The ringing from the gunshot was deafening, but his opponent was right there.

Yonehara pushed off from the floor. His rifle was pointed the wrong way, but that didn't stop him in the slightest. Life-or-death situations cared naught for whether your gun was ready or not.

The captain rammed his gunstock into the mercenary's crotch, aiming for the gap between the legs where the load bearing vest didn't reach. Before the man could start keeling over, Yonehara pushed off with his legs.

He slammed his body mass into the man's stomach, knocking the gun aside as he did so.

And that was end of him.

* * *

 **Whoops. Turns out I was a bit late in uploading this chapter. FF was being a bitch in formatting, not letting my bold formats go through. Until I realised that I had been using the wrong document format, that I was using DocX instead of Story.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the song featured in this chapter. The song used is called "Counter raid another D-" by Empire Ensemble.**


	23. We shall engage in a Night Battle!

My theory of a shared consensus seems to be even more positive now. The rats are acting more and more rebellious than usual, and the same thing happens for the other patients. When we brought a patient into the room and allowed it to view the glass maze the rat was in, the rat which was hesitating immediately took the shortest possible path to the cheese.

Apart from direction finding using different perspectives, we were lucky to witness a conflict between the rats. It appeared one tried to become the alpha, and the current alpha of the pack fought it while the other rats kept away. Among our patients, they displayed varying degrees of hostility, territorialism, and fear and anger towards our researchers.

As an experiment, while the fight was taking place, we placed two patients who has displayed aggression in the same room. They immediately tried to kill each other, requiring a team of six guards to tranquilise and secure them.

I will be composing my thoughts more coherently into my thesis later. For now, I'm going to go to sleep. I haven't had sleep in so long, and there's no day-night cycle down here.

 **Personal Dairy, Researcher Hashimoto Yuki**

* * *

My gunner, Unteroffizier Kramer, can take credit for a deed that was probably unparalleled on the Eastern Front. That is, he succeeded in shooting down a Russian fighter with a tank cannon.

... Kramer, upset by the unrelenting nuisance of these guys, elevated his cannon along the approach route. I talked him in. He took a chance and pulled the trigger. On the second attempt, he hit one of the 'bees' in its wing. The Russian crashed behind us.

 _ **Tigers in the Mud**_ **, Otto Carius**

* * *

 ** _Booom_** _m…_

The sonar man winced as he held his headpiece a good distance from his ear. Next to him, the half-finished mug of coffee tilted nearly 45 degrees as the sub rolled. Grabbing his desk, the man cast a quick glance at the waterfall display before noting down the general direction and distance of the latest attack.

A bunch of papers were scattered across the plotting table. Some of them held nasty brown stains from some poor sap's coffee. Most of them were printouts from the sonar equipment, detailing what information the computers were able to gather. Right now, with listening in into the environment suicidal, the best they could rely on was the computers.

The computer that was a part of their standard sonar equipment took the recorded sounds, took in the direction of the hydrophones, along with a bunch of other factors and compared them to past records. Over time, the built up records each submarine gathers gradually improves the accuracy of the computers.

The thing was, the I-201 was pretty much a clean slate.

With each hand-over, all past records and data collected would be wiped by the school's technicians. Each submarine crew were expected to have a fresh start, collecting data and experience over their 3 years at Toumai.

What the school had not anticipated was the power of interschool cooperation.

Nakamura surveyed his men at work even as he gripped tightly to the safety bars. Slowly, the submarine was returning to an upright position. "Dive another 30 metres. Rudder hard to port, new course zero-two-zero."

 _"_ _Hai!"_

The _Akashi_ 's captain, Sango Sugimoto, had handed the Captain a thumbdrive containing the records and invoice of the repairs she had conducted on his submarine. While it was done for free here, the records would need to be turned over to the teachers so that the administrators could settle the repair bill costs.

The thing is, that thumbdrive did not contain just the receipt for their repairs.

That thumbdrive also held all the past records of the I-201, through its various crews over its 12-year lifespan.

Right now, that data was proving extremely useful in pinpointing the incoming attacks.

Nakamura started to make his way back to the others. As he was climbing out of the trapdoor into the conning tower, the submarine shook from another nearby explosion. This time, instead of swaying with the shockwaves, he could feel the vibrations being more pronounced.

 _They're hitting even closer than before._

* * *

It had started when the attack submarines I-16, I-18 and I-24 surfaced. They fired their torpedoes at the escorting Blue Mermaid forces before fleeing for their lives.

It was expected for the Blue Mermaids to devote a large portion of their forces to the hunt. After all, the boys were counting on a certain person within the fleet to come to their aid.

Nakamura waited beneath the surface, even as the nearby I-15 relayed news from the others to the I-201.

"Commander, a new message has come in."

"Thanks." Taking the paper from the secretary, Nakamura scanned it over. "Shots fired. No sign of enemy movement. Awaiting further instructions."

When at battlestations, the bridge seemed to have some sort of tension in the air. It was to be expected. After all, they were shooting at their instructors. No one in their right mind would be happy about that.

On the other hand, they weren't going to harm anyone with these training torpedoes. There _is_ a reason they are called "training torpedoes". The torpedoes all school ships were armed with were dummy torpedoes. With a modified warhead to contain a less destructive charge, the explosion of a training torpedo would be enough to only cause minor leakages along fault lines. Besides, any flooding caused by these things would be easy enough to contain.

When a warhead explodes underwater, the gas bubble created will expand due to its pressure being higher than the water's. However, water pressures would cause the gas bubble to collapse, since the water pressure is higher than the gas bubble. The collapsed gas bubble again would temporarily have its pressure raised higher than that of the water, thus expanding again. Such a back and forth expansion-contraction of gas bubbles is the main cause of damage to submarines.

When a submarine is caught near such an underwater explosion, the submarine is sort of being torn apart by the forces of water rushing in and out of the bubble. Such cycles will occur multiple times, enough to wrench important equipment out of place and to tear holes into the pressure hull.

* * *

Intelligence from the spotting drones launched by the I-19 indicated a defence force of only four ships. Of which, their crew identified the ships as _Independence_ -class littoral combat ships. What those things were doing so far out in the ocean, no one could tell. However, they did enter combat mode, as the drone detected several radar searchbands lock on its position. That was followed by the UAV spotting a plume of smoke and fire before promptly losing connection.

Now that they knew a surveillance drone was in the area, the defence forces would undoubtedly be on high alert.

Of note, the drones were nothing more than a remote camera and a transmitter, along with scuttling charges. They were launched via hand-held SAM that would propel the payload to a pre-set height. Once there, the rocket detaches and free falls into the ocean. The drone on the other hand would deploy a parachute, slowing its fall as it started transmitting back to its receiver. The direction-specific transmitter meant that so long as it was not pointing in the general direction of a receiver, the receiver would not pick it up. To correct any spin on it due to the parachute or whatsoever, a set of gyros inside the drone's casing kept the internals rotated in the correct direction.

After the news spread that the UAV was downed, the operation kicked into high gear. The I-16, I-18 and I-24 launched a series of floating rocket launchers. Each launcher held one rocket drone, and was expected to be destroyed in the launch sequence. They were all timed to go off in sequence as the previous drone hit the ocean, and should provide a good-enough coverage of the ocean to the pre-programmed receiver.

Having released their payloads, the three submarines dived. For a while, everyone was in the dark. The new UAVs had yet to launch, and while the defenders were aware of possible hostiles, they didn't know where the attacks were coming from.

Not for the first time, Noshima Satou, Captain of the Ro-500 cursed his luck. The launch was carried out at a safe enough distance, with the drone falling into position on a ballistics course. What didn't make sense was how fast the search radars had caught it.

Modern weapons capabilities were supposed to be lightyears ahead of what they had, something drilled into every boy's head since entering submarine school. Still, given that they were using modern technology as well, he had expected the drone to survive longer than 20 seconds.

The only explanation he could come up with was that the Blue Mermaids just so happened to have an air search radar pointing in that direction just as the drone fell into range and deployed its parachute, making itself look like a big target.

 _"_ _Yuu, what next?_ _"_

Noshima quickly wiped off his face. Grabbing the Gertrude, he composed his speech.

" _Harder_ , prepare protection against incoming attacks."

 _"_ _Incoming ASW? H'okay. Will warn of any approaching boats. "_

The Gertrude clicked off, indicating the caller had hung up.

Noshima sighed as he replaced the receiver. "Why did we have to work with the Americans again?"

His Deputy handed the boy a face towel as he patted his friend on the back. "We needed the technology they could smuggle out for us, Taichou."

Noshima sighed, "I know, I know… I just hate having to work with them…" Having mopped off his face of sweat, he seemed to perk up somewhat. "Okay, what about you guys, how are you doing?"

The bridge crew all replied their various assent. Picking up the receiver again, he toggled the switch for the 1MC. "Attention, all crew members. How are you feeling?"

 _"_ _Doing fine, Captain."_

 _"_ _Engineering is all ready, Captain!"_

 _"_ _Torpedoes loaded for snap shot, sir."_

 _"_ _We're cooking the chickens now; mid rats will be served shortly."_

The last reply was met with groans from all over the sub. Behind him, Noshima could make out his Chief Gunnery Officer grumbling about "bloody hamsters".

"Okay, good to hear. For now, get ready. Phase two is starting."

 _"_ _Oh! Oh! Is that the one where we get to use the whoosh things?"_

Someone sighed over the system.

"Yes... it's the one where we use the whoosh things."

 _"_ _Yay!"_

"Okay, anything else?"

There was silence over the system.

"Okay, that's it for now. Thank you." Clicking off the 1MC, he strode back to his command post behind the helmsman. "Chief Navigator, adjust course to pre-set coordinates one, set speed for 4 knots."

"Aye, aye, Captain."

"Chief Gunnery Officer, have your men prepare the _schwere Wurfgerät_. If we are discovered, they will come in handy."

"Hai!" As the boy went off to gather his crew, Noshima continued his orders.

"Chief Torpedo Officer, have your men ready for possible snap shots, but don't let them get too tired. We'll be in for the long game, and will need everyone at their best."

"Hai, Taichou." The Chief Torpedo departed as well, leaving just one person left for Noshima to deal with.

"Secretary, I need you to safekeep this. I trust that that network of yours can keep everything important safe." Noshima passed the boy an SD card, which he pocketed. "When shit goes down, I need you to get out and stay safe, understood?"

"Yes sir."

"Good."

As the boy plugged the memory chip the Captain had given to him into his tablet, the Captain ran through his checklist. Satisfied that he had covered everything, he snapped the notebook shut.

"Alright, what do we do next?"

* * *

"Well, that wasn't exactly according to plan."

 _That might be the biggest understatement I've heard this entire operation._

Nothing was going according to plan.

The Blue Mermaids weren't supposed to shoot down the observation drones. The Blue Mermaids weren't supposed to send out their blimps only, leaving the four defending ships to protect their cargo.

The Blue Mermaids _definitely_ weren't supposed to tighten their defences, leaving the midget submarines trapped inside their cordon.

The strike team's mission was to secure certain valuable information before the lab ship was sunk. In order to do so, they had to have an escape route. Midget submarines were used for this purpose.

The midget submarines had their torpedoes removed, resulting in just enough space for one boy to squeeze into, provided he lie down. The now three-man submarine was to sneak into the defence cordon, deposit the six-man strike team and be a hole in the water. Now, with the defenders patrolling even closer to the lab ship, surfacing for the strike team to board and escape was suicidal.

Instead, it was all Noshima could do to stop himself from screaming in front of his crew. The distraction team had been doing fine. The I-16, I-18 and I-25 had attacked, launching torpedoes and was fleeing at best speed.

Well, a reprisal was to be expected, of course. That was the whole point of the attack.

A torpedo attack would give the subs some time to get the hell out of dodge before the Blue Mermaids detected the torpedoes and tried to dodge them. Instead, the Blue Mermaids had an extra asset that the boys hadn't expected.

The blimps had been deployed.

When the first drone had been shot down, and until the second drone had deployed, there was a gap when the boys had no means of communication. That's why when the next drone came online, the first thing it noticed was a burst of gunfire from a shape in the sky–

* * *

"Splash two drones."

The gunnery officer in the CIC was deadpan in her announcement. Furushou nodded as the display updated with the last known location of the drone and the deployment of the blimps. The moment the attack started, she had the blimps launched to provide more battlefield coverage.

That the blimps had air-to-air combat ability was a given, of course.

"Keep the blimps at this height elevation. They wouldn't dare launch more drones, not after they realise how fast we can shoot them down."

"Aye, aye, captain."

Furushou frowned as her orders were carried to the remote-control operators. The noise being made by the _Hakurei_ was degrading her sonar performance in that area. While she supposed it was intentional, since they would want to hide evidence there was an unauthorised submarine in the area, it was defeating the whole purpose of the set up.

After her sonar operators had relayed the news of the rescue operation by the _Hakurei_ , since someone had fallen overboard, they had disturbing news to announce.

The submarines the operators had been tracking had disappeared. The things had most likely stopped, and what they were doing no one knew. The incident had put the entire crew on alert, so when the drone launch was detected, the tension in the CIC skyrocketed.

* * *

"Sarge, you alright?" The man had his gun firmly gripped in one hand, a slightly dazed Joy Sergeant wrapped in his other arm. While Miller tread water, the others on board the ship scrambled to get the line overboard. Eventually, the rope was thrown down, splashing Miller as it did so.

"Urgh… my head's killing me…" His superior murmured as she dug her face into his neck. Another crest hit them, sending the two bobbing and spinning in the pacific waves. Sarge's response was to start dry heaving.

"Oi, oi, Sarge, don't vomit on me," Miller pushed in the direction of the rope, blinking the salty sea water out of his eyes. Another wave hit him, sending him further away from the rope but closer to the side of the ship.

Despite that, he still felt fine. The cold was there, yes, but he wasn't freezing to the bones like Sarge was. The woman may be putting on a very green and brave face, but with how close he was holding her, he could feel her body trembling.

 _What is it with women vomiting on me?_

Miller sighed, the fogginess in his mind already clearing. The whole time, up until he had fallen over, he had been feeling sluggish, his mind less sharp than it used to be. He had chalked it up to sleep deprivation and left it at that.

However, with the fogginess disappearing, something else was appearing. Memories, of someone on board the _Hakurei_.

Another wave hit him, this time in the right direction for him to grab onto the rope. He had to release his gun for a moment, and with the gun now slung across him, Miller could finally work with one hand free.

Wrapping the rope around Sarge, he secured the makeshift harness for the drowsy woman and looked up at the people above. It was more mercenaries, more of his brothers and sisters who had been hired for the job.

 _"_ _Don't hurt him. He's had nothing to do with this."_

Miller blinked, shaking his head as Sarge was lifted out of the water. Yet another wave struck Miller, tossing him towards the ship. He bounced off the hull, wincing as a follow up wave threw him at the ship again.

That was when he saw it.

A white and yellow submersible with a skipper parked next to it. The skipper was empty as the sub's entrance hatch closed.

* * *

The man on the skipper didn't know what hit him. The last thing he felt was a rush of movement as something grabbed him from the side, followed by a burst of pain in his throat. Then, with the blood spurting out of the gaping cut across his neck, the man lost all strength in his knees.

Norita guided the man's fall all the way, closing the body's eyes as he did so. With the man's body now on the top of the submersible, he carefully pushed it until it slid off the wet hull and into the ocean.

With that done, he went to the opened hatch and went down, KABAR knife at the ready.

There wasn't anyone to greet him, guns blazing or otherwise. Instead, an eerie red glow permeated the submersible. It was the hauntingly familiar lighting of battlestations.

He kept the knife in an icepick grip, held at the ready as he briskly moved down the passageways. His body was moving on autopilot, eyes wide and pupils dilated as he strained to see clearly in this lighting. From somewhere further inside the sub, he could feel a… a tugging sensation.

It pulled at him like a magnet, his gut churning as he moved closer to the source of the sensation. Strangely enough, he hadn't found anyone apart from the person who was boarding the sub. The man was wearing something like office attire, and for some reason, Norita didn't feel anything when he sliced through the man's jugular.

Even now, when he reviewed the situation in his mind, Norita didn't register anything apart from the action.

The song, one that spoke of sinking and destruction, was raging louder than before.

That was when he heard gunfire.

* * *

Despite the urge to hurry over and see what was happening, Norita kept his calm. It would make no sense if he were to rush, only to rush into a prepared defence. Now, his priority was to…

What _was_ he supposed to do?

The mission plan's objectives were to gather information on the RATt project from the _Hakurei_ research vessel and the lab submersible _Ya-93_. Since no one knew where the _Ya-93_ was, they had decided to board the _Hakurei_ and steal data from there.

From what Norita was guessing, this was the _Ya-93_ he was standing in.

If that were the case, then where are the guards? This was a top-secret super important research vessel. It would definitely be guarded by a contingent of at least thirty guards. However, he had yet to find anything.

That was when he found his first clue.

On the floor was the body of a young man in a hazmat suit. At least, he was guessing it was a young man, since his face was rather badly mutilated and throat ripped out, revealing the spine. His body lay sprawled on the ground, splayed out like as if he had been grappling with something before he died.

There was another burst of gunfire, followed by faint screaming.

While the gunfire came from his right, the tugging sensation was now telling Norita to go left.

He looked down the corridor. This dead man lay across the entrance to an opened room, and on the metal floor were several bloodied footprints. They led away from the body, towards Norita's left where the sensation was telling him to go.

Shrugging to himself, the boy set off in the same direction as well.

He had crossed several doors when something made him freeze. He ducked into one of the cabins, noting how thin the door was as he slid it shut behind him. The room was empty and clean, though he could smell disinfectant and something… familiar in the air.

From the other side of the door, Norita heard a pair of boots go running by, accompanied by muffled shouts.

"…she's gone this way…"

Once the voices were gone, Norita poked his head out the door. The speakers had gone towards the source as well, which meant either Norita moved, or they find whatever the source was and stop it from emitting. He'd then have no idea where to go.

The door made no sound as he slid it shut behind him.

All that he left behind were a set of quickly drying footprints.

* * *

They had gathered all of them in the classroom, and with the use of the secretary's tablet, set up the slides for the presentation.

"Everyone, thank you for joining us tonight." Shizuka met their curious gazes with a firm one of her own. "I am sure that everyone has been busy preparing for tonight's artillery drill, right?"

There was a chorus of murmured assent.

"Good. I will now tell all of you what these preparations were for." The secretary swiped her finger across the tablet, changing the slides. The words, highlighted in bold, appeared on the screen.

"RATt Project. This is a classified government military experiment that aims to create a superhuman," Shizuka spoke, her hand outstretched as she gestured towards the screen. "Through the use of genetically modified viruses, the RATt virus as it is now called, infects a human and changes their DNA on a cellular level. The modifications are mainly increased resistance to the environment."

"A human being who has been successfully infected with RATt can theoretically survive at temperatures of minus 10 degrees Celsius for extended periods of time, perhaps days. This is due to the modified cells triggering a state of semi-hibernation where most body functions are shut down. It explains some of the symptoms these patients have been observed to have," Shizuka could see the confusion on the girls' faces, so she pushed on.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the secretary flinch as she brought up the next slide.

The slide was a picture of a mountain of a boy seated in a medical chair. Apart from his big size, there was another, subtler, thing about him.

"His eyes… what's… what's wrong with them?" One of the girls from navigation held her finger up, quivering at the screen.

"This is what happens when they infected the patients with RATt. This patient here, his name was Mountain Rhino. Now, he spends his days doing this," a quick slide change, "or this." The new picture showed Mountain Rhino once more, but facing away from the camera as he sat in a corner of the room.

"For some reason, the virus destroys upper brain function. He barely has any of the survival instincts we do, and does nothing but face these." The secretary, Suwako Ayanami, brought up the next slide.

"These things are not cute rats." Shizuka cut off the girls before they could start squeeing. "Those things were lab rats, the normal white, docile, lab rats. After being infected with the RATt virus, their fur and body shape changed into this. On top of that, the rats do not seem affected by the virus. They still have their higher brain functions. They can still think."

"And do you know what's worse?" The fiery haired captain paused. "They are still carrying that virus, and it can spread from simple human contact with these things."

"There's no known cure for the virus," she added. "The virus has a window of 12 hours to 2 and a half days. After this window has passed, there is no going back. The virus cannot be budged, and it will stay there forever, turning the infected into this."

One more slide came up, one that the boys hadn't been able to receive but the girls had. This slide had a video embedded in it, and as the secretary started up the video, Shizuka stepped away from the screen.

In the video, Mountain Rhino was rampaging as he kept trying to break through the wall of his holding cell. He would charge it and bounce off a few times, before grabbing any nearby furniture that wasn't broken yet and throw it at the wall. The video continued for a while more before something changed.

All of a sudden, Mountain Rhino stopped trying to break through the wall and just stood there, staring into empty space.

"This video was captured roughly 12 hours ago. We don't know what caused the sudden change in actions, but we are guessing that something has happened and it's big. That's why we are going to put a stop to this project before it gets worse."

From outside the classroom, the ship's doctor entered the room with a small sealed container. In it were…

The girls screamed. Visible through the glass sides were bodies of two orange and white rats. "These rats were caught and killed by the Higashi-Maizuru Boys' Marine High School. They had discovered these rats and even now are fighting to sink the lab ship making and researching these things."

"The government cannot be trusted, as Blue Mermaids have been spotted guarding the Research Vessel _Hakurei_. The _Hakurei_ is tied to the research and development of these things, and is heavily defended." Another slide was clicked on, showing a screenshot of the video the drone had sent to the U-511.

It showed on the ocean's surface, highlighted with image enhancing, filter overlays and crudely drawn circles in red, the different ships in the area. "These four ships are of the _USS-Independence_ class Littoral Combat Ship. The one in the middle is the Hakurei. This image was taken forty minutes ago by a rocket-assisted drone launch shortly before it was shot down. The little splotch of brightness over there? That's the ship's SAM firing."

The captain paused as she let the girls absorb what the information meant. "Yes, the Blue Mermaids are using lethal force. The boys are fighting for their lives against the Blue Mermaids to shut this project down. Us, as girls of Yokosuka Girls' Marine High School, how can we stand aside and let this happen?"

"The girls of Sasaebo disappeared after going against orders not to engage in out-of-curriculum conflicts. If we attack the Blue Mermaids, who's to say what can happen to us? We can't directly attack them, Shizuka-san," Takeda Raiko, one of the gunnery officers, spoke up.

"That's why the principal of Toumai is granting blanket amnesty to the boys if they can capture proof of the RATt project. For us, we do not have the same guarantee. That's why, we will have to play smart." Shizuka strode back in front of the screen.

"I trust all of you know of the firing drills we have been preparing for? Well, now is the time for us to progress to a live fire drill." Shizuka looked around the room, studying the girl's faces. Most of them were impassive, though she could see some underlying worry for a few people.

"If anything happens, then don't worry. I'm taking the blame for it anyway, since I'll be the one telling you girls to fire, after all. Just adjust the guns as we tell you and we'll leave it at that. Ok?"

"Hai!" They replied.

* * *

Yamashita Shizuka, captain of the _Maikaze_ , was frowning.

Off on the horizon was a developing conflict. If she were to interfere, she had not much guarantee her crew would be granted amnesty. However, she knew what she had to do. The officers had been briefed, and just minutes ago the announcement had been made to the entire crew.

Even so, she could barely spot the occasional flash as a blimp in the far-off distance opened fire on something. Each time the gunfire stopped, she wondered what had it destroyed.

At times like this, modern technology was scary.

"What is it, Miss Shizuka?"

The girl didn't jump at the voice, having acclimated herself to the big man's presence. "We're going to be conducting a live fire drill soon. If you want, you can retreat to below decks where it's safer."

While her back was facing him, Shizuka could _sense_ him shaking his head. "Safer from what? If a shell hits, then it's be better to be closer to an escape route than further away from one. It's your engineers you should be worried about, not me."

She sighed and brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear. "It's just… I'm worried, that's all. You're a non-combatant, so if you were to be involved, it would be bad."

The man shifted behind her, climbing to his feet. "I'll be fine. I'm a submariner, being shot at and not shooting back is what I do." He gave a hollow chuckle at his own joke. "Either way, I'll be fine. Don't worry for me, worry for your crew. They are more important."

The captain shifted her stance, letting her weight rest on her left leg. "Alright…"

Larry moved forwards to stand next to her. Gazing out of the window, he noted the occasional burst of light that lit up the clouds. "Is that…?"

"Yes," Shizuka replied. "Multipurpose blimps equipped with self-defence cannons. Perhaps 13mm or 20mm cannons. We don't know what they are shooting at though." As she spoke, there was another burst of light.

The new burst came from the ocean, and it wasn't too far from where the ship was. Going by her eyes alone, Shizuka estimated it at about 3km out.

"Alright, time to get busy. Larry-san, please stand aside," the red head ordered. The American complied, retreating to the back of the bridge.

" _General Quarters, all crew to their battlestations, repeat, General Quarters, all crew to their battlestations!_ "

As she shouted the command into the sound tubes, she could almost imagine the rumbling of feet as the girls rushed to their places.

Up in the fire control booth, the gunnery crew would be preparing themselves for firing solutions. The torpedo officers would be preparing as well, some of them manning the torpedo launchers, others crammed into the fire control booth with Gunnery to calculate firing solutions.

Engineering were at their posts the whole time, readying themselves for the tough times ahead when the captain would demand all that the engines could give. The lookout had barely waited for the order to finish before she shouted out her estimated range findings.

"Aerial contact, holding at 5.2nm, estimated height at 7000m! Bearing of zero-three-three!"

"Alright! Gunnery, prepare for night time live fire drill on dummy target, 45.9nm at bearing zero-three-three!"

The Chief Gunnery officer didn't question the order. Instead, pen scratched on paper as computers churned, both reaching the same conclusion at the same time.

"Gun elevation: 40 degrees" The gunnery officer spoke into the voice tubes, her gun crew replying with a chorus of _"hai!"_

Electric motors whined as the loaded guns were raised, locking into position at 40 degrees.

"Ute!"

* * *

 **Author's Notes:**

 **Hi guys. Remember two chapters back when I mentioned how my records keeping was screwed up? Turns out that yes, I did screw up the order of release of certain chapters. Sections from this chapter were supposed to go out in "21. It's time to begin" while sections from both chapters "21. It's time to begin" and "22. Have no fear" were supposed to be in here -_-**

 **Apart from my horror when I finally found out why those two chapters were missing information, I need to inform you guys that I will be going offline soon. The June Holidays are coming to an end, and I need to both prepare for my Mid Year Exams as well as finish my other writing projects for my Writer's Club. No worries, the next chapter will still be released next Sunday, but this is just an early PSA.**


	24. Caught in the Crossroads

Sometimes, I hate myself for all the things I've done. Other times, I'm proud of what I accomplished. But of all the things that I am most proud of, and of all the things that I hate myself the most for, that one thing I did was you.

 **Audio Log, Researcher Hashimoto Yuki**

A show of force is a military operation intended to warn (such as a warning shot) or to intimidate an opponent by showcasing a capability or will to act if one is provoked. Shows of force may also be executed by police forces and other armed, non-military groups.

Shows of force have historically been undertaken mostly by a military actor unwilling to engage in all-out hostilities, but fearing to 'lose face' (to appear weak). By performing a carefully-calculated provocation, the opponent is to be shown that violent confrontation remains an option, and there will be no backing off on the principle that the show of force is to defend.

 **"Show of force", Wikipedia**

* * *

The instant the tugging stopped, Norita ducked for cover.

The entire time, a strange sensation had been pulling him in a certain direction, and now he could see why.

In front of him was a research lab that had its doors busted open. Inside, there were still intermittent bursts of gunfire, accompanied by the occasional scream. Given how he hadn't seen anybody since he had boarded the YA-93, just what was going on inside the lab was terrifying him.

He readied the knife.

Norita approached the doorframe, carefully peeking around it in the red gloom of the sub.

His eyes widened at the sight.

Several bodies lay strewn about on the floor. They were a mix of soldiers, going by the body armour, and civilians, since some of them were wearing that hazmat suit he saw earlier.

He was just in time to see a soldier stumble out through a doorway, spraying bullets back where she came before slamming the door shut behind her. Before she could move any further, a man lying on the floor climbed to his feet. He wore one of those combat vests, with a rifle dangling loosely from his hands.

The woman took no time in shooting him twice.

He fell back to the ground missing the back half of his head.

As the woman stood with her back to the door and several bodies on the ground, Norita realised something.

 _Don't tell me… a RATt outbreak?!_

Just to be safe, he stayed where he was and observed. It wasn't long before something happened.

Norita's instincts flared at the last possible moment. He moved, pushing himself away from the wall as something crashed into his legs. The person grabbed him by the legs in a bearhug, causing Norita to lose his balance and fall over.

However, that bit of warning was enough for him.

Twisting himself in mid-air, Norita forced himself to roll with the impact. It prevented a dislocated shoulder, and left him with his arms close to his body as he landed on his back. A sharp pull on his legs drew attention to the person trying to tear his right leg off.

"Arrgh!" Pulling himself up by stomach muscles alone, Norita drove his knife into the person's shoulder, forcing them to slacken their grip in response to the pain.

In that split moment, Norita yanked his right leg out of their grip. He barely had it cocked back before kicking out, catching the person on the left side of their face.

That blow was enough to get the person to reel back. Just in time for a massive blast to nearly blow out his eardrums. Accustomed to gunfire as he was, Norita shielded his face from the flying gibs as everything behind the person's face disappeared into mist.

The body hadn't even hit the ground before Norita heard the sound of breathing behind him.

"Who are you, boy?" The woman spoke from behind him. While Norita couldn't see her, he could definitely feel the gun aimed for the back of his head. At this sort of range, missing the shot would be impossible.

"I'm from the submarine _I-201_. I am on a training mission to covertly board a vessel in simulation of a strike team deployment. Our navigators seem to have gotten us the wrong ship, though."

"Bullshit. Now, get up and keep that knife close to you." Norita did so, prying his left leg out from underneath the body. "I don't know what caused this farce, some containment breach in the labs. Now, I'm going to put a stop to this shit and seal that breach."

The woman looked at Norita, eyeing him from top to bottom. "You have combat training, don't you." It wasn't even a question.

"Yes ma'am. I have handled small arms before as part of our training regime," he replied, moving closer to the woman and holding his knife at the ready once more.

"Good," She started moving, walking back into the lab section. "At least you won't be too much of a burden."

* * *

Yonehara winced, blinking as the last of the haze faded from his mind. He was… shot? In the head?

Some movement to his left caught his attention, and the realisation that there were more than one person breathing in this cabin raised alarms.

"Give it up kid, I know you're awake."

Yonehara didn't respond, keeping his breath level and heart steady as he pinpointed the people with him. There were at least two others, one on his left and another behind him.

The speaker sighed, "Kids these days… Look, kid. We're not arresting you or anything. What we want to do is arrest these shit heads running the ship."

The _I-201_ 's captain still didn't respond, instead formulating an escape. From what he was guessing by the speaker's voice, the speaker was a male mercenary and the other in the room was a female. Possibly a mercenary as well. Meant to extract every bit of information they could from him.

Well! There's no way he would let that happen! Yonehara steeled himself. _I'd rather die than betray my brothers._

" _Shireikan_ , it's alright. They really are helping us." A third person spoke, causing Yonehara to bolt to his feet and face the three of them.

His initial guess was correct, two mercenaries, one man and one woman. The woman was not pretty, but not ugly either. Her looks weren't helped much by the huge scar running across her cheek.

The third person onboard was the boy from the _I-25_ , who was so silent Yonehara hadn't picked up on his presence. Amusingly enough, he noticed how the three of them were blocking the door.

"What is this? Where are my weapons?"

The man replied, Yonehara's gun resting across his knees. "You are talking to your seniors, kid. Show some respect."

Now that he had a good look at the mercenaries, Yonehara suppressed surprise at the man's fluent Japanese despite his Caucasian-features. "Fine. Mister, I would like to ask, what's going on here, and where are my weapons. Please."

The man smirked but did nothing else, "Explain yourself first, kiddo. We," he gestured to himself and his female companion. "Came down here after hearing the gunshot and found your friend. After that, we found you. Two kids who stowed away on this ship, or something else? A far bigger conspiracy, perhaps?"

Yonehara hissed at the boy, "What did you tell them?!"

He shrugged, "I told them everything. Look, _Shireikan_ , you can trust them. They will help us, just tell them what you know."

Yonehara huffed. "You know, that sounds an awful lot like you guys took the info out of him first, then come to me to try and get even more, right?"

The woman shifted her stance, from a standing position to one with her gun at the ready. She said something in a foreign tongue that Yonehara couldn't catch, and the man replied in the same language.

Turning back to him, the man sighed. "Ok, look, we were hit with that RATt stuff as well. By falling overboard, somehow the RATt virus that was changing our bodies was stopped, and we had control over ourselves again." Seeing Yonehara's disbelieving look, he added, "It felt like you were dreaming."

 _That_ was the clincher. No one except those with high enough clearance would know about that. Either that, or someone who had been infected but managed to break free of the virus before it took over them irreversibly.

"…Fine, I believe you."

Steeling himself, Yonehara began his story.

"We are sent from the local school Higashi-Maizuru Boys Marine High School to investigate and prevent the research of the RATt virus. We have clearance to apply lethal force to stop the continued research of this matter, and are currently on a mission to recover important data to prove the existence of the RATt virus and its parent RATt Project."

The man nodded, seeming to accept what Yonehara was saying. "Okay, that's… quite fucked up. Gimme a sec."

He turned around and started talking to the female mercenary, apparently translating and discussing what to do. He turned back to Yonehara as the woman went to the door and stood with her gun ready.

"Alright, kid. We believe you for now. The name's Miller, and that crazy bitch over there is Joy Sergeant. Everybody calls her Sarge. We were both infected with that RATt virus on orders of the captain, as well as our entire mercenary team. We managed to get some of them to contact seawater, and it seems to have done the trick in curing them. For some others, it didn't work."

Miller hesitated for a moment, and handed Yonehara back his gun. "Try not to shoot anyone, but if you have to, try for a less critical shot. That's my fellows in arms out there, and I wouldn't want to hurt them. If you see the Blue Mermaid lady, don't shoot her either. She's the reason why I'm still alive."

* * *

Furushou waited in the CIC as her blimps hovered in place. They had fanned out somewhat, all of them pointing their surface-search radars at the ocean in hopes of spotting the periscopes of those submarines. Twice now the blimps had fired, driving the subs back down.

Twice now her navigation officer had to make direction changes to avoid torpedoes, one such spread coming within feet of her beloved _Sarushima_ 's hull. The helmsman who suggested playing Eurobeat over the speakers was glared at for that one.

Even now, her sonar officers were shouting warnings of another detected torpedo launch.

"Engines at half-power, right hard rudder!"

"Engines half-power, right hard rudder aye, aye!" The helmsman shouted back as she spun the wheel. The _Sarushima_ keeled hard but didn't go past its tipping point as it started making the turn.

 _"We are running in the nineties, is a new way to set me free~_

 _I'm just running in the nineties, yes I wanna know, yes I wanna–"_

"Will someone turn that infernal thing off!?" Furushou screamed, the Eurobeat track cutting off as she did so.

That order was followed by a series of mid-air explosions as half her blimps were wiped out in a cloud of roiling smoke and fire. Her CIC hadn't finished shouting out the damage report before another blast of thunder hit them through the hulls of the ship, signalling yet more blimps disappearing from the radar screen.

"What is going on?!"

* * *

"Alright, gunnery. Good effect on target. Begin torpedo attack on target ship! Relative bearing two-two-three, distance 15km! Set torpedoes for 3 metre running depth, launch tubes 1 through 8!"

"Hai! Torpedoes bearing two-two-three, 3 metre running depth, launching 1 through 8 in ten… nine…"

As the torpedo officer began counting down, Shizuka, captain of the _Maikaze_ , gritted her teeth. The ship had just completed a 180 degree turn and was now steaming away from the fight. Beside her, her deputy captain Mitsuki watched the two chief weapons officers pour over charts on a planning table.

The navigator was being as unflappable as usual, and the secretary was standing beside the American at the back of the bridge.

"…three… two… one…" She couldn't feel it, but Shizuka knew the recoil was there as eight torpedoes were launched in succession via compressed air. Already, the next and last set of torpedoes were being hauled into place by the autoloader.

"OK! Good job girls! Gunnery, keep your guns trained on those coordinates. If they fire back, we get to shoot at them. Otherwise, we're getting out of here!"

The girls cheered as the _Maikaze_ fled the battlefield.

* * *

"Ma'am! Surface radar has spotted the attackers. It's a destroyer, likely to be of the _Kagerou_ -class." The radar technician shouted, but her voice couldn't be heard over the din.

"Transients! Transients! Torpedoes in the water, from bearings zero-eight-three, one-nine-zero, two-two-seven, two-seven…"

"Ma'am! The fleet has lost seven out of our eight blimps! Blimp number 5 is damaged, but still functioning!"

"Ma'am! Forward gun turret ready to open fire on the attacking surface warship!"

"Ma'am! Surface radar has detected another drone launch!"

"Ma'am!"

Furushou sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Here is was, the famed battle chaos of the CIC. One thing that her crew were shouting to her stood out the most.

"Don't shoot! Do not shell that ship until we have confirmed it was at fault. The fact that they are running now could mean that they realised they were attacking the wrong target." Even as she offered up that excuse, she could tell her crew were not happy with the explanation.

"Right! Keep that blimp alive, we need it for surveillance. Do not shoot down that drone with the blimp, use our AA mounts instead."

"Aye, aye!" The gunnery officers set to work, using the integrated sensors system to switch from targeting the surface warship to the recently launched drone.

"Opening fire!"

As the 57mm gun opened up, Furushou continued giving orders.

"Sonar! Keep track of those torpedoes! I want you to plot a safe course for us right now! And NO Eurobeat!"

The helmsman sighed but did as she was told. As the first of a safe route was plotted, she started turning the ship to thread its way through the torpedoes.

"Ma'am! The _Kamishima_ has been hit! Flooding is minor, but they will be slowed down."

Furushou turned to the radio operator, "Thank you, keep me updated on their situation. Next!"

"Ma'am! We… Holy shit! We have a missile launch!"

 _Missile launch? How?!_

"Six missiles detected, they seem to be unguided… and one just disappeared. I think it fell into the ocean."

"Now's not the time for jokes! Evasive actions on that launch, rudder hard right!"

"But ma'am, we can't!" Her helmsman protested, "If we veer right now, those torpedoes will catch us! There's no through path on the right!"

 _Shit!_

Which posed the bigger risk? Inbound missiles or torpedoes in the water?

She made up her mind.

"Maintain course, scramble the CIWS and shoot down those inbound vampires."

"Aye, aye, Captain!"

As the radar operators overlaid the predicted trajectories of the incoming missiles, she saw how none of the inbound vampires were deviating much from their course. They made easy targets for the R2D2s on the top deck, which were unloading 20mm shells so fast she could hear their "chainsaw-like" buzz through the bulkheads.

Immediately, the two closest missiles disappeared from the radar screen, shot down by the Close-In Weapons System.

As the helmsman began the turn to follow the plotted course, Furushou couldn't help but thank how these schoolships were limited to World War Two technology. Those torpedoes they fired weren't changing course to match theirs.

These were unguided torpedoes, and against a skilled navigator wouldn't be too much of a threat.

It was as the _Sarushima_ passed between the third spread of torpedoes did something strange happen.

The four torpedoes made a sharp turn, ramming into the sides of the ship.

* * *

 _"Dive! Dive! Dive!"_

Water rushed back into the ballast tanks as the U-511 crash dived. As the submarine went under, the torpedo crew rushed to get another set of torpedoes ready in the forward tubes.

"Commander!" The torpedo officer called, "We have 4 standard torpedoes left for the forward tubes, and 2 homing ones for the stern tubes."

"Thanks," the Chief Torpedo Officer replied, rushing over to the intercom.

"Captain, we are down to 4 standard fishes forward, and 2 homing fishes aft. It's our last reload, sir."

Noshima Satou nodded, "That's alright. After a pressuring attack like that, they would figure that we have used up a lot of our torps. Makes it the perfect time to go sub-hunting."

His Deputy turned and looked at the Captain, "But then, won't we be in danger? We're acting as live bait."

Noshima smirked, the cogs in his head running at full speed. "Of course! But without their blimps, they can't spot us. They would have to manually search through their own sonar, which we have the upper hand in."

The Captain of the U-511, as well as Admiral of the Toumai Boys Marine High School Submarine Coalition, grinned as he anticipated the upcoming one-sided battle.

"Radio operator, send the signal to the other subs. The Nightmare Party is going to begin."

* * *

Norita glanced about him as they wandered through the empty passageways. The red battle-lighting was still there, and it both made it harder to see as well as provide the much-needed mood.

Which was like something out of a damned horror game.

The woman with him still had her gun readied, but it no longer pointed at him. Instead, she kept it close, one finger over the trigger guard. The M-14 carbine was short and compact, and at close range like this, armour wouldn't make much of a difference.

"Ma'am," Norita asked, "what happened here?"

She looked as if she was considering leaving him behind, but she chose to answer the question.

"I'm not sure what happened, myself. I was on the upper decks when we received news of a test subject escaping. We tried sealing off all the decks, but when we got to the control area, we couldn't do anything to it. Everything in there was fried, like an EMP bomb had gone off inside. Without its power source, the submarine went into 'power saving mode'."

After a pause to check if anything was going to jump out at them from the next opening, she continued her story. "My team and I went down here, and we found practically all the staff like this, either comatose on the floor or shuffling around like zombies. They attacked us on sight, and we had no choice but to shoot back–"

A person in a hazmat suit jumped out from behind them, lunging for the woman's back. Faster than she could react, Norita moved, slamming his knife and arm right into the person's gut. The KABAR knife went through the rubber suit and he felt it impact the person's body.

The person screamed in pain as Norita pulled his knife out, punting them down the corridor with a swift kick to the exact same spot.

"Sorry ma'am, I interrupted you for a moment. Could you please continue?"

The woman hesitated, apparently unsure whether to level the gun at Norita or at the convulsing body on the ground.

"O-okay… As I was saying, they attacked us, we shot back. About a few hours ago, those who had been in direct contact with our attackers suddenly turned and attacked us. So… um…"

"Oh." Norita looked down at himself and the occasional bloodstains on his uniform. "No worries, ma'am. I'm immune to the virus plaguing them, that's why I'm not affected."

Looking about, Norita kept his eyes peeled for signs of another attack, "To tell the truth, I am sent here by my school to stop this virus project. No good will come of it, and it has already claimed my friends. From what I know, they are held on this submarine as test subjects."

He twisted his head, looking over his shoulder at the female mercenary. "If I find out that any of them have been killed, I do not know what I may do. Please be warned."

The two of them continued walking on in silence.

"Young man, what's your name?"

Norita didn't look back, his eyes scanning the turnoff in front of them. "My name's Hashimoto Norita. You?"

She hesitated, before tapping her trigger twice. The figure moving down the corridor fell over, even as Norita turned to spot what she had gunned down.

"I'm Louise," she replied. "Just call me Louise."

Norita nodded, "Alright, Louise-san. If you have no objections, I think we should go this way."

Without any further prompting, Norita took the turnoff and went through the glass doors. They were broken and in pieces on the floor, but the sign that was on it was on the floor.

It read "Biological Hazard: Containment Room"

* * *

Yonehara was really wishing Norita was with them right now.

Of all the boys, Norita was the best at hand-to-hand combat, and would have been indispensable in taking out all these people. At such close ranges, the team had to engage in melee quite often, with those infected jumping them from behind cover and the like.

He spun and opened fire, striking a charging mercenary in the bulletproof vest. The man went down, perhaps with broken bones, but he would live.

That was the other thing Yonehara wanted. Those Kevlar vests the mercenaries wore were rated for rifle-calibre weapons. Norita's knife would have gone through it like butter, a much better weapon than the AK-47 he was holding right now.

Another blinding haze overcame him, washing out his vision for a second. Shaking his head to clear it, the _I-201_ 's captain winced as he held one hand up to the bandage.

His companion from the _I-25_ told him how he had been shot in the side of the head, how it was a miracle how the bullet only gouged the skull instead of going through and damaging the brain.

It certainly felt like a miracle that he was still alive.

He could vaguely recall, how his reflexes had saved him at the last second. If he had been just a little bit slower, that bullet could have gone right through.

Thinking about that fight suddenly brought something back to him. Fishing through his pockets, Yonehara found the weighted compact he had discovered in the room.

He pulled it out and studied his reflection in the tiny mirror.

A clean white bandage was wrapped around his forehead like a _hachimaki_. It wasn't blood stained, but it felt stiff and it definitely had a lot of padding underneath it.

"Where did you get that, kid?" Yonehara looked up at Miller. The mercenary was eyeing the compact, so much so that the boy snapped it closed.

"I found it, shortly before that man tried to kill me. I know I shot him, but… is he dead?"

Miller replied, never taking his eyes off the compact, "Yes. That compact belongs to that Blue Mermaid lady. If you found it, then she's probably been taken."

He stopped, the team stopping as well as Miller reconsidered his options. "Ok, here's what we'll do. Sarge will take you," he pointed at Yonehara. "And go search the Blumer's room. You get what you need, kid, and you get out."

Miller turned to the other boy, "You are coming with me, kid. We're going to go to the captain's cabin and find him. If he isn't there, then we'll just lockdown the entire ship anyway. Let's go."

"Hold on, sir." The boy from the _I-25_ spoke up, "What about the rest of our team? There were supposed to be six of us in total. I know one didn't manage to board, and he's our melee specialist. What about the remaining three?"

The man's face darkened. "Then we'd better find the captain quickly. I have a very strong feeling that if we find him, we'll find your friends as well."

* * *

Furushou sighed as damage control reports came in at last. Of all the five torpedoes that hit, four were homing fishes and the fifth was a standard torpedo that hit them when they were slowed down in the water. The torpedoes were apparently training torpedoes, with charges so tiny they couldn't do anything more severe than a watershow.

After all those hits, the _Sarushima_ had suffered only one leak, which was easy enough to fix that Damage Control took only five minutes to patch over.

Again, she ran through her mind what had just happened.

After the drone had popped up on their radar screens and was immediately destroyed, the deployed blimps detected the first harassment attack. Torpedoes were detected visually, followed by sonar detecting the torpedoes.

The blimps caught sight of one of the harassing subs, but it was so brief that it showed up on the visual feeds as a small dot. Most likely the submarine's targeting periscope.

When the torpedoes were detected, the fleet had made a course correction to let them pass by, and visual tracking of those fishes afterwards caught them running out. Estimated launch points for those three spreads were plotted, and had shocked the flagship how close they were.

Thus, the flagship, the one the four Blue Mermaid ships that they were supposed to be protecting, had them pull closer to ensure submarines didn't get any nearer to them.

It had turned out to be a mistake, as the last attack had proven.

With the five ships so close together, the submarines just blanketed the area with torps until it was near impossible to dodge. The _Kamishima_ took six torps, the _Sarushima_ took five, the _Aogashima_ took three and the _Tsushima_ was forced to endure four torpedoes to protect the flagship _Hakurei_.

This was beyond what she could stand any longer.

"Radio operator, get me a link with the _Hakurei_. I am taking command of the battle from them, and I no longer give a shit as to what he thinks. Get the other ships in on this as well, I doubt any of them would oppose." Her eyes danced over the tactical display, eyeing the estimated launch points.

As a precautionary measure, two ASROCs were fired, but the Anti-Submarine Rockets' torpedoes couldn't find targets and ran in circles until they ran out of power.

The submarines had moved, and sonar couldn't detect them.

 _What are you planning?_ Furushou's mind raced, calculating the submarines' possible intentions.

"First off, we are going to spread out," she said to no one in particular. "Sticking together gives them one large target to aim for. Have the blimp return and be refitted for dipping sonars and sonar buoys. We don't need that air superiority, our CIWS can handle those drone launches."

Her deputy looked over at her, and threw in an idea. "Ma'am, given how we counted a hundred and fourteen torpedoes launched, that would be a sizeable number of their ammo expended. They would be vulnerable if we pursued them."

"Hmm," Furushou considered the suggestion. "We'll have _Kamishima_ and _Tsushima_ do that. We'll keep station with _Aogashima_ here with the _Hakurei_."

The radio operator, who had been listening in, proceeded to repeat those orders to the other ships. The two _Independence_ -class ships _Kamishima_ and _Tsushima_ set off on their ASW missions, while the _Aogashima_ began to distance itself from the _Hakurei_ Research Vessel.

* * *

Nakamura didn't dare move a muscle, as the depth meter of the _I-201_ ticked upwards by yet another metre.

No one else in the submarine did, all of them focused on their tasks.

A message was flashed to the torpedo room, whose crew replied with a "Systems Nominal".

They were coasting on their momentum, screws barely turning to avoid cavitation.

This was the trickiest bit of all.

A sixth contact in the area could only mean one thing.

It's the YA-93, and Nakamura had two live torpedoes waiting for it.

* * *

 **Author's Notes: ...and just like that, I'm off on another Hiatus. I expect to be back by mid to late November, and hopefully by then I can finally tie up this story. For something that started as a simple "I want to have boys in an all-girls world", it has spiralled into this 24 chapter monster with more to come :D**

 **I hope you guys enjoyed these four chapters over the month of June (I most certainly did) and I wish you guys all the best in whatever you do.**


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